Short · Earthquakes
Why do some buildings fall in earthquakes while others stand?
Soft lake-bed ground shook about every two seconds. Buildings whose natural sway was close to that rhythm were amplified most strongly.
Opens Quake Tower. Change the same thing yourself.
Transcript
In Mexico City's 1985 earthquake, many mid-height buildings collapsed, while shorter and taller ones nearby survived. The reason is rhythm. Every building sways at its own natural pace, and taller ones sway slower. The soft lake bed under the city shook back and forth about every two seconds, close to the sway of those mid-height buildings. Now change the height. When the rhythms match, each shake adds to the last, and the sway keeps growing. That's why some towers carry dampers, like Taipei one-oh-one's six-hundred-sixty-ton steel ball. Follow to see how the world works.