Million Whys Press logo
Million Whys PressToronto
← Book 26 videos

Book 26, Question 108

How do engineers test whether a building can survive shaking?

In big labs, engineers build models of buildings and bridges and place them on a shake table, a platform that moves like an earthquake.

Sensors record how the structure sways and where it is weak. Then they try new designs, like flexible joints or cross braces, and shake again. This helps buildings protect people in regions that have earthquakes.

Why I wrote this