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Name: Rebekah
Status: Student
Age: 14
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: April 2003
Question:
Hi, What is put into the foundations of earth quake proof buildings to let them shake safely?


Replies:
Civil engineers do not like to call them "earthquake-proof" because the very largest earthquakes can be devastating to any building. "Earthquake-resistant" might be a better term. There are several systems in use, but the most prevalent ones involve bearings inserted between the building and the foundation made out of rubber or two pieces of metal with a DuPont's Teflon (TM) coating in between.

If you want to learn more, go to an Internet search engine and search on "earthquake base isolation". This should lead to many sites which discuss the concept in more detail. The following link will take you to a good article at the University of California at Berkeley:

http://nisee.berkeley.edu/lessons/kelly.html

Andy Johnson


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