We had a medium earthquake a few weeks
Ago but it felt pretty strong. I was at work and someone sent out an email that said “the earthquake felt stronger here because the building is on rollers” but everywhere I look the building is connected to the ground and there is a center courtyard inside our triangle shaped building that looks like a mound of earth. How can my building be on rollers?
In: Engineering
They’re not actual rollers, but the name for a flexible rubber and/or spring layer of the foundation that flexes with applied lateral forces. The flexible nature dampens major movement but can prolong the effect, sort of like a slinky bobbing up and down, except laterally.
[Seismic base isolation – Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seismic_base_isolation)
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