How can buildings be saved from the earthquakes? This has been the consideration of engineers through ages but no success, to be very precise, has been earned so far. In general conventional seismic design attempts are applied in order to make buildings that do not collapse under strong earthquake shaking. However, the reality is that, these may sustain damage to non-structural elements (like glass facades) and to some structural members in the building. This, at times, renders the building non-functional after the earthquake, which may be problematic in some structures, like hospitals, need to remain functional in the aftermath of the earthquake.
In fact, two basic technologies are used to protect buildings from damaging earthquake effects. These include Base Isolation Devices and Seismic Dampers. While the idea behind base isolation is to detach (isolate) the building from the ground in such a way that earthquake motions are not transmitted up through the building, Seismic dampers are special devices introduced in the building to absorb the energy provided by the ground motion to the building.
Nevertheless, many engineers do consider these notions as also faulty and for this reason an assortment of techniques are being utilized to develop earthquake-resistant buildings. Though this is the normal picture, there has been a twist as well. A group of physicists, at the moment, believe that it’s possible to make an entire building effectively disappear from an earthquake’s destructive path, avoiding serious damage.
What makes them draw this conclusion? Well, as per information, they have been inspired by the recent development of novel materials, that can precisely control the flow of light waves around objects. What’s more, they have depicted that the same ideas can work whether the waves make up light, sound or earthquakes.
Nothing is final yet and a series of further examinations is in full swing. But it can certainly be said that there has been no dearth of endeavors.
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