Meet the 730 ton ball that keeps one of the tallest buildings in the world from collapsing [The More You Know]
With last month’s devastating earthquake in China, the world’s tallest building, the Taipei 101 suffered heavy aftershocks that could have sent this record-breaking skyscraper if it weren’t for a 730 ton steel ball in the basement that serves as a damper to absorb and mitigate tremors.
From DVICE:
To counteract the forces working against it, architects installed a $4 million, 730 ton tuned mass damper, which is a big ball 18 feet in diameter, made of 41 steel plates, and suspended by strong cables 3½ inches thick. It’s said to cut down on the swaying of the building by almost 40%. It isn’t the first skyscraper to include one as other buildings, such as the Citicorp Center in Midtown, Manhattan, have them as well.
Physics and engineering is so much fun. Check out a video below of the damper doing its magic while mainland China was getting pwnd by the earthquake.
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Was Michael Phelps’ 7th gold medal… A CONSPIRACY??? [Stupid]
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@ cranberryzero
I'm grateful you do not :p (But if you find someone who does, dude. Pics.) 
Dude probably set the fire. 
Very useful information. You could also add that if you must fight back, aim for between the eyes or the ...