Engineering
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How things are built, and why they don't fall down.
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Why a squeezed ruler bows sideways: Euler's buckling and the hollow tube
Squeeze a ruler between your palms and it doesn't crush: it bows sideways and gives way. That's buckling, and it decides how slender a column can be. Euler…
Why a 660-tonne steel ball swings to keep Taipei 101 still
Skyscrapers sway in the wind, and gusts that match the tower's own rhythm can make it sway more and more. Taipei 101's answer is a 660-tonne steel pendulum…