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May 31, 2007
Xiang Xiang Killed By Wild Pandas
Xiang Xiang is the first captive-bred giant panda ever released into the wild. He was freed into the wild last year in hopes that he would survive and give credence to the breeding program. A year later, researchers tracked Xiang Xiang down and found him dead apparently due to injuries suffered from a fall related to attacks by wild born pandas.
Although breeders and scientists did their best to teach Xiang Xiang how to survive in the wild, nothing can replace the hard lessons learned in life. It seems Xiang Xiang learned the hardest way. I hope this doesn't stop the breeding program tho. We really need to help these magnificent creatures regain their place in the world.
Posted by tranism at 6:05 PM | Permalink
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May 21, 2007
Helix Skyscaper
Riddle me this, what takes the form of a transverse wave? A Helix! Okay now what if we applied that shape to a building? What would it look like? How would it function?
It's an interesting design question that could cause in paradigm shift in building design. The degree of incline would be so slight, people inside would have no idea they were moving from floor to floor. It would probably feel like a really long circular hallway. This design characteristic would eliminate the need for stairs. The building would be 100% wheelchair friendly since it's just a rising slope. Structural rigidity would be improved since it's just a corridor wrapped around a central core but there are some problems with this design.
The taller you build, the longer it takes for someone to get to the top. Sure you could build an elevator but since there are no defined floors, elevators would have to be redesigned. An alternative is to use moving walkways but that would still be a slow climb to the top. The second problem is levelness. What happens if I drop a ball. Even at a slight 14ยบ grade, the ball would roll and provided there are no obsticles, keep rolling. That pretty much applies to anything with wheels.
However there is a huge advantage in using a Helix. The shape inherently holds a lot of volume without much mass. That's why our DNA strands are helices. Following DNA as an example you could place two helices into a building that intertwine. They would never touch and the overall mass of the building would stay the same. Imagine that? Apple and Microsoft could exist in the same building without ever seeing each other.
via absidea
Posted by tranism at 1:40 PM | Permalink
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