Past Mission of NASA Pics

Incredible Engineering: the maeslant storm surge barrier

the maeslant barrier (maeslantkering), a huge storm surge barrier at the mouth of the port of rotterdam in the netherlands, is the largest hydraulic engineering structure on earth and, according to hard-fact bible wikipedia, ‘the largest moving structure on earth’. it was opened in 1997 as the final part of the delta works, an enormous project undertaken in order to protect certain coastal areas of the country from the sea after a flood in 1953 killed more than 1800 people in the area.

the barrier consists of 2 incredible movable gates which automatically sweep across the water, meeting in the middle of the waterway to form a temporary wall, each of the gates rotating on 680-ton steel ball joints which, with a diameter of 35ft, are also the largest in the world. the barrier’s movable design was chosen as the waterway it guards is far too valuable in terms of trade to shut off permanently: this single barrier cost $700m and has absolutely no effect on ship traffic.

a few weeks ago (november 8th) the barriers were used for the first time prior to fierce storms and succeeded in protecting the port from flooding. the gates, weighing the equivalent of 4 eiffel towers, took 30 minutes to close.

below is the barrier as seen on google maps, the direct link is here.

Airport Runway Supported by Pillars

Top 10 Highest Skyscrapers Photos In The World

1. Taipei 101 Tower (Taiwan), Built: 2004, Feet High: 1,671


2-3. Petronas Tower I & Petronas Tower II (Malaysia), Built: 1998, Feet High: 1,482


4. Sears Tower (Chicago), Built: 1974, Feet High: 1450


5. Two International Financial Center (China), Built: 2003, Feet High: 1362


6. Jin Mao Tower (China), Built: 1998, Feet High: 1350


7. CITI Plaza Guangzhou (China), Built: 1996, Feet High: 1283


8. Shun Hing Square (China), Built: 1996, Feet High: 1260


9. Empire State Building (New York), Built: 1931, Feet High: 1250


10.Central Plaza (Hong Kong), Built: 1992, Feet High: 1227

Earth Clock, Interesting Real Time Stats

While these numbers may not be 100% accurate, they do sound like they are
close…and regardless, still very interesting to look at.





and while we’re at it…Here’s a few more

Best of the Dubai Airshow

A formation of nine Royal Air Force Red Arrows Hawk aircraft fly above the Burj
Dubai, alongside a Boeing 777 aircraft.







Shaikh Mohammed leaves an Airbus A380. Airbus eclipsed its competition by
winning a $31 billion order for 131 aircraft from Emirates during the air show.








Visitors are dwarfed by the size of the Airbus A380, the world's largest
passenger aircraft.








On the fourth day a large crowd gathered to watch the
stunning aerial display by the Red Arrows.



 


The red arrows perform in the record-breaking air show - the biggest in the
event's history.








A Cupid's Arrow in the sky is just one of the many breathtaking stunts performed
by the Red Arrows.








One of the big announcements at the air show was Emirates revealing the opening
of its Dh1.3 billion engineering centre on the north side of Dubai International
Airport.









A visitor looking at a miniture version of the Luftanza airlines executive jet,
one of many attractions inside the exhibiton hall.








Organisers say when the airshow moves into its new grounds at Dubai World
Central in 2009, it could grow into the world's largest airshow ahead of Le
Bourget in Paris and the Farnborough Airshow in the UK.

 

The ghost of Chernobyl

It happened 21 years ago.

That we have now you can see on the pictures (dead towns).

PEOPLE, PLEASE, DON”T MAKE SUCH MISTAKES IN THE FUTURE.
In memory of all victims of Chernobyl.