Spidery Strength
Science A "offers web-like support" Diagonal columns wrap around the Freedom Tower. Connected to the central core by the floors, they share the job of supporting the building's weight. Diagonal columns...
View ArticleThe Low-Risk High Risk
Science Designers of the freedom tower, soon to rise at ground zero, say cutting-edge engineering will make occupants safer. Will they be safe enough? Immediately after 9/11, it looked like the age of...
View ArticleGlass, De-Fanged
Science Kepping windows from turning lethal Up to 85 percent of injuries in bomb attacks are caused by flying glass--"knives and daggers," in the words of blast engineer Tod Rittenhouse. But thanks to...
View ArticleSafe Havens
Science Refuge areas to offer shelter until it'sd safe to evacuate When evacuation is inappropriate, such as during a chemical or biological attack, occupants can congregate in protected spaces known...
View ArticleSafety Glass
Science (planned for Freedom Tower) High manufacturing temperatures make blast-resistant glass strong but too heavy for an entire building. Laminated glass consists of glass layers sandwiched around...
View ArticleThe Way Down
Science Few people on the floors above where the planes hit the twin towers survived, in part because the stairs, sheathed only in drywall, were severely damaged. In the Freedom… Few people on the...
View ArticleTake the elevator?!
Science Fire protection and sensors to gird lifts so that people can exit fast If the World Trade Center attack had occurred at a busier time, it would have taken occupants four hours to get down the...
View ArticleDanger Underground
Science Primers on high-security building design warn against basement garages. It's a lesson learned from bitter experience: the 1993 truck bomb that exploded below the World Trade… Primers on...
View ArticleInner Sanctum
Science A tower within a Tower: extra cladding in the middle Running up the center of the building is a fortresslike tower whose walls, made of two-to-three-foot-thick reinforced concrete and steel,...
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How the Greenest Skyscraper Complex Ever Is Rising Out of the Rubble of the...
Technology On September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center transformed from a pair of gleaming towers into a carcinogenic pile of smoldering rubble that's still killing people. Currently… On September...
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