Weebles Wobble But They Don’t Fall Down

And neither do these new self-righting buildings designed to withstand earthquakes. Built on a rocking frame that allows the building to safely sway, this design uses a system somewhat similar to the human body. Flexible steel frames dissipate the energy of a quake while steel cable “tendons” stretch vertically and spring back into their original length once the shaking is over, thus pulling the building back upright. In other words, turning the buildings into Weebles.

Check out the video of scientists testing their new structural design on the worlds largest shake table in Japan.

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