I'm looking for information on the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco. I've heard that it is able to withstand earthquakes and severe swaying. How is this possible?
Is there a possible way of doing a simple experiment in a school laboratory to test for different materials and seeing how they are able to sway. Which materials would be best, do you think?

• ID# 175.2 (reply to #175.1) - 18 September 2000
  1) Don't know about this particular building, but generally the word is "flexibility"; within the frame itself and/or in the foundations, which are not rigidly joined, but allow the members to move and sway with the vibrations.
  2) Unless you want to make a "professional" effort and build a 3D frame like the real-life research engineers do ;^), one possibility is of course to test a material's (or even better, a simple structure's) "rigidity" with a gizmo like a light bounced off a mirror on top of the structure to a nearby wall. That way, I can tell, even the sturdiest photo tripod seems to wobble for a while when disturbed... This of course bears little similarity to practical 'scraper frame research as the type of structure (frame), type of joints, form of building, type of structural stresses, type of foundation etc. all have their own effect on the result, but at least you'll get the course thru'... ED