Shake tables are way more complex than I thought

[@TomScottGo]

I'm a bit worried about whether the shaking comes across on camera. If you can use a big screen, please do! It's almost impossible to be close enough to see the shaking AND static reference points AND to have enough movement that it shows up on camera. But the noise? The noise, at least, sells it for me.

[@Upenshnoop]

Yes so am I

[@arandomguy1471]

Big fan, keep making these videos!

[@purpleotteruk]

Yup - shaking looks good here ❤

[@HMM-0]

🇽🇰

[@untamedbacon]

Watching an object that big move that quickly certainly sells it on a normal monitor. This is one of your best videos showing scale, both of the shake and of the systems responsible for it.

[@leogrievous]

It's amazing to see the engineer go from "explaining to a stupid journalist like a child" to "geeking out with Tom about fluid dynamics"

[@TactfulWaggle]

when he realizes tom is alittle more knowledgable than your average journalist (just a little)

[@ImaginaryChannel]

I couldn't understand everything they explained, but I'm glad there's Tom and undoubtedly a big online audience here who appreciates this complexity and the chance to geek out about the challenging scale at which this system operates. It's nice to find videos where such complexity isn't avoided just because it's not understandable for everyone. As someone less technically educated I had my enjoyment watching them being excited about this.

[@althejazzman]

Such a relief to not have science dumbed down. Dumb people don't want to watch science videos anyway.

[@philipcampbell5646]

To be fair it's probably not "stupid journalist" so much as stupid viewers of journalist.

[@AdmiralBurningskull]

He was probably pleased as punch to be talking about the shake table with someone who actually understood something of the forces involved and could really grasp how COOL his job is.

[@QuantumHistorian]

Tom trying to remember which one is pitch, roll, and yaw while doing the hand movements is shockingly relatable

[@EightThreeEight]

Also, I finally learned which is which.

[@LaughingOrange]

Pitch, front up/down Roll, side up/down yaw, front sideways

[@iabervon]

Pitch versus roll for something that isn't supposed to travel and is wider than it is long is extra hard. Sure, roll is sides up and down, but are "the sides" your wrist and fingertips or your thumb and pinky when you're talking about the shake table?

[@bellutta]

The way I remember Roll Pitch and Yaw is that Roll is rotation around the X axis, Pitch around Y and Yaw around Z.

[@whyamiwastingmytimeonthis]

@@bellutta now I just gotta remember which axis is which!

[@ScottTheBot07]

Tom showing understanding of what the guy is talking about feels very genuine. He’s truly interested.

[@Upenshnoop]

Ye

[@apveening]

That is one reason for the popularity of his videos.

[@Yodah97]

You can also see him applying knowledge he picked up from other videos. Like the water hammer effect he likely researched to talk about that lake that is also a battery. It was quite wholesome.

[@kingofthedivan1251]

The guy himself also looks very interested in telling how it works and I love it

[@adrenochrome3853]

This is what makes tom scott videos some of the best om youtube, a genuine interest in the videos he is creating

[@SeratoninOni]

Tom losing his mind over a u-turn in the pipes is the clip I would show somebody to describe his personality

[@apveening]

He understands the significance of a u-turn in those pipes.

[@mathewng1988]

Not just a u turn (smooth semi circle), but 2 90⁰ turns for each pipe, into the short end of a T no less.

[@Pithlitthedark]

Genuine Physics reaction!

[@jlammetje]

@@mathewng1988 I was more amazed by that T-junction than the U-turn! Weird it wasn’t even mentioned

[@jwalster9412]

​@@mathewng1988 I think the reason they did that is because of reliability. If they did two long curves it would be more likely to stress out the metal when making the curves, where the smaller curves would be less to worry about. It's technically less efficient, but it's the best option.

[@adamblessing8528]

As a project engineer, who is rarely allowed to demo anything on site, i feel the pain of the engineer who had to use the u-turn and was most likely told "look, you can't demo that wall and we're not giving you the budget to build a new building. Just make it work in this area."

[@TomLuTon]

Demo as in 'demolish', not 'demonstrate', for those like me who just spent 30 seconds trying to figure out how you demo a wall

[@MiseFreisin]

given the pressure of what's in the pipes, it's presumably less a question of "can't demo that wall" and more "really, _really_ shouldn't demo that wall, please"

[@nikkiofthevalley]

​​@@MiseFreisin You could probably drain the network, but it would be really annoying to do it in a controlled way, and it would take ages.

[@Alacritous]

I used to design and build automation systems for oil wells in Nothern Alberta. The pain is real. Even for NEW installations the automation is an afterthought so we were always the last to be called and had to work around anything else that was on site because they NEVER made any allowances for control circuits and instrumentation placement. Let alone coming along later and adding or changing something that was already in place and having to run wire in places where it was never meant to go.

[@typemasters2871]

@@TomLuTon and here’s the new wall model, it can block wind, it’s water proof against water pressure as high as a garden hose, it can withstand a human body being thrown at it, and it can easily be painted on without the paint sliding off completely

[@dan_zehner]

I've been part of this project for 7 years, and Koorosh is a good friend. It's great to see this team get recognition from amazing folks like Tom for the fantastic work they do every day to make the world a safer place from earthquakes!

[@1pcfred]

While earthquakes can strike anywhere on Earth they are more prevalent in some places than others. So your best bet is to simply stay out of earthquake prone zones. That's worked for me so far.

[@Wulthrin]

@@1pcfred same here, though we did have a quake here about 12 years ago. one of the weirdest sensations i've ever felt and i was like 100 miles from the epicenter

[@krashd]

@@1pcfred You'd be amazed where they can happen, we can get a three or four pointer here in Scotland once every five years or so. A farmer I know has to go round correcting all of his upturned sheep. No joke.

[@valeriepark9444]

@@krashd the opposite of cow-tipping, that

[@logicandlaughs]

Thank you for your work on this project!

[@delta250a]

That guy was probably the best you have ever interviewed. He loves it and isn't 100% serious like others. Fantastic video all round.

[@hazonku]

You know that when people ask him what he does for a living he says, "I work in rock & roll."

[@abydosianchulac2]

He was probably enjoying having a member of the public actually _get_ what they were doing.

[@MikeV8652]

Yes, I was very impressed by the professor.

[@dengar96]

I'm a bridge engineer myself and I can attest I would love for someone to ask me about bridge design and actually act interested.

[@jwalster9412]

​@@hazonku "I do the shaky baky but with buildings"

[@danielhale1]

I like the video ending on "The next test will commence in 10 minutes". They're really putting that building through the paces. They can casually run a serious earthquake test and then say "oh it's not over, there's aftershocks for like... the next few months". I really like that they have a system in place that allows that level of rigor.

[@jwalster9412]

They probably have a deadline for the amount of test time they can spend per building. I imagine they have a lot of people who need their buildings to be shaken down.

[@philkensebben157]

@@jwalster9412 "Shaken down". I see what you did there.

[@dan_zehner]

@@jwalster9412 can confirm. They have another test right after this one, and a full year of testing booked after that for other projects.

[@5th_decile]

​@@dan_zehner which company or gov agency runs this facility? Any idea?

[@dan_zehner]

@@5th_decile it's a National Science Foundation funded center.

[@forthe_mark]

Thanks for coming out, was awesome getting to work with you! For anyone wondering it is just as much fun seeing Tom get excited about a U-turn in person.

[@jamesknapp64]

You one of the engineers at UC SD there?

[@PixelatedPenfold]

@@jamesknapp64 I think he was one of the camera people.

[@forthe_mark]

I got to do the filming and drone stuff. But I am also an engineer here (not on the shake table team).

[@BenWillock]

It's always extra entertaining to see Tom interact with someone he vibes with.

[@leow.2162]

The whole thing is just a big vibe machine

[@theLazyElf]

This earthquake pun is so lame it physically shakes me to my core.

[@nfboogaard]

Richter

[@berlinflight_tv]

Looks like we found Tom's resonant frequency then.

[@SemiHypercube]

The level of technology needed to simulate an earthquake kinda shows how strong they actually are

[@sagetmaster4]

And fantastically complex too, double whammy

[@hazonku]

We definitely need that level of engineering just due to the size of our state & the fact we get a little bit of every kind of earthquake there is.

[@voxtrongeneraider1970]

If we just want to simulate 1 earthquake it's easy just use explosive, but to make repeated, controlled, and SAFE even after the building tip?, that's what make it need that much of technology

[@robertlinke2666]

and thats just on the scale of 1 building, not half a country

[@mrfishfr]

Earthquakes be like: "Look What They Need To Mimic A Fraction Of Our Power"

[@breadleymcthicc5444]

The test really showed how insane Earthquakes are. A controlled test on a safe building with favorable conditions, and I still am in awe at how terrifying that looked. As Tom put it "I do want to turn and run".

[@MartinFinnerup]

@@Dave-rd6sp You would have trouble standing during one of these too, but no-one is allowed on the platform itself.

[@rkhayden]

And that's for a relatively small quake. The displacement in the Kobe earthquake was about 1 metre.

[@Appletank8]

Maybe one could try rolling really fast

[@theyeti6258]

I sometimes smile at Tom for being terrified in seemingly harmless situations, but this one I absolutely felt. I wouldn't feel great standing next to that building.

[@WartimeFriction]

Well that's news to me. I stood through the 2018 Alaska 7.1 just fine, after it shot me out of bed thinking I was getting blown up again.

[@500werewolf]

"You have to fail safe." That statement alone tells you how crucially important an engineers job is when designing systems of any kind.

[@games1004]

The more difficult thing about designing something (from the video) is knowing what “safe” is. It’s interesting that they can’t just go “emergency stop and re-center!” Also the building resonance “force feedback” on the machine is complicated, with each building having its own feedback.

[@carlbutcher2268]

One of the worst rookie mistakes you can make when building *anything* is to create an emergency stop system that just replaces the original problem with a bigger problem.

[@holyknightthatpwns]

I believe this is the second video that Tom has done on artificial earthquakes. Interesting to see how much he's refined his technique since then.

[@NoNameAtAll2]

third there's one with giant steel ball

[@ItIsJan]

​@MiIey Cryus 🅥 what? its miley cryus?

[@Mogeli]

@@ItIsJan And apparently she's vegan 🅥

[@Sibula]

@@ItIsJan Nah, just another scammer

[@mk_rexx]

Probably because he apparently has a superpower to not film natural geological activities so he goes to artificial ones.

[@voodootrois]

As an expert in something myself, I can tell you that Dr. Lotfizadeh really enjoyed that interview because you came into it already with a moderate understanding of many of the fundamental principals.

[@1pcfred]

What's to understand? When earth god angry make ground shake.

[@bene5431]

​@@1pcfred Fluid dynamics, resonance frequency,...

[@1pcfred]

@@bene5431 we appease fire god with you.

[@Skannkhunt42]

I love how these videos teach me random things I tell people when I'm drunk

[@irgendwieanders2121]

Would you be my spirit animal?

[@ailaG]

Same except the drunk part

[@logicandlaughs]

I'm with you. When you're sober, you don't know if people want to hear cool facts... but when you're drunk, you don't care. :)

[@greatPretender79]

Tom was clearly blown away by the U-turn, but said nothing about the fact that, right after the U-turn, the pipes create TWO SIDE-BY-SIDE T JOINTS??? I can't even imagine the violence

[@The76Malibu]

I think it's less turbulent violence than heat generation (efficiency loss) from all the bends and connections. Hence the large diameter and smooth metal pipe to reduce heat loss as much as possible. Hydraulic oil is incompressible and already has filled all the lines. Just transmitting power from one side to the other. Hydraulics are a 'liquid drive-shaft' not flowing water.

[@UFO-047]

@@The76Malibu hydraulics are 'flowing water', especially one like this setup. Cycling multiple, very large rams very fast will take a huge amount of flow. Just lifting all 6 vertical rams 5" in 2 seconds (not fast for this) would take a flow rate of over 3,100 gal /minute - 11,800L/min.

[@wientz]

Agreed ..the U turns are childs play compared to those dead end T joints

[@alguien6462]

It's strange to hear Tom Scott have so much emotion, it really sells how insane the thing is.

[@Qmeister044]

Same for when the maglev train whooshed past him.

[@deJessias]

bit of a backhanded compliment but ok

[@zr413films]

@@deJessias It's moreso that he's usually very composed and professional in his videos

[@titanicf0g]

in the court

[@srn4004.]

@@deJessias What about it is a backhanded compliment?

[@alexandergrozz9418]

I want an hour long documentary on the engineering and construction of this thing. It's incredible!

[@blindbrad4719]

They had a camera guy going around recording it, but he forgot to take the lens cap off…

[@RossReedstrom]

Hmm, I bet Practical Engineering would be all over that.

[@Bobberation]

The best kind of Tom Scott video - the ones where you go "Now I really want to dig into this"

[@spellsaidwrong]

Glad to know that even artificial earthquake centres have picked their battle in the Y-up/Z-up debate

[@QuantumHistorian]

Who on earth doesn't pick z is up when working in 3d?

[@sashavasilyev3000]

@@QuantumHistorian the unity engine, apparently

[@mailleweaver]

@@QuantumHistorian Mojang.

[@diox8tony]

@@QuantumHistorian depends, is my target a Monitor/painting/billboard? (2d plane in the vertical) or a building/floorplan blueprint? 2d plane on the ground. most 3d models (unity) should be using the 3d blueprint (Z is up) style. Z is always into your eyes. are you observing a wall? or the ground from the sky?

[@BeyondOrdinary]

@@mailleweaver and it always feels wrong

[@thesavage2054]

'We're laughing, but that would be catastrophic.' I love how Tom can make something so dangerous so entertaining 🤣

[@Blockio1999]

You can tell how much fun the guy from the company is having eplaining how it all works. Truly living his job.

[@firebanner6424]

UCSD*

[@goigus]

You can visibly see him get happier and more engaging at around 2:25 onwards when he realises Tom actually understands what he is talking about and is showing genuine interest. It's a rare sight with interviews nowadays

[@1972LittleC]

One of the best things of these video's are the people who work with those daily are getting so excited to be able to talk about this. The pure enjoyment to be able to do that. Reminds me of the people who I worked with at TNO Eindhoven.

[@rgibson7305]

It is such a distinct pleasure watching smart people be passionate about things they love.

[@StoneLegion]

I love how 99% of this is the science / tour and not the final presentation. That is exactly what I want to learn about how and why not the fireworks.

[@daylen577]

That dude was the most charismatic business person I have ever seen. I feel like he could explain to me why they picked the specific alloy for the low pressure pipes and I would still be listening.

[@neillthornton1149]

He's a professor at UC San Diego, so it's good you want to listen to him, as others do!

[@alainportant6412]

@@neillthornton1149 he is a professor at the fudge packing academy

[@sskosasi]

I'm working in the mass timber industry so this shake table test was something I am very fascinated in, and I'm delighted to see this you do a video on it. I did some of the manufacturing modeling on a few of the CLT panels. It is crazy how many players across the industry were involved with this. I would love to see a video where you dive into the shear fuses, tensioning, and other details, and the impacts they may have on mass timber construction and construction.

[@MazHem]

Nice! I read the stuff on the recent Glulam fire test as well :3

[@RamonInNZ]

Our university in Auckland NZ has a slightly smaller version, and still have a lot of fun shaking stuff, which includes bridges, tanks (water), silos and more as well....

[@gabrielfraser2109]

Building a shake table in New Zealand is like building a spider farm in Australia.

[@illdeletethismusic]

you"d still do it if you for needed a supply of spiders with predictable characteristics

[@dengar96]

In the US we have a university club called EERI which builds structures to resist seismic activity. Some schools can get some insane results out of their builds. Often they will partner with concrete canoe teams which build canoes out of concrete which I did for 4 years. Super fun and very challenging to do well, Tom could do a great episode on those competitions.

[@drpaulht26]

We test our graphite cores for our nuclear reactors on shake tables. Quite interesting to test scale models of 12m diameter 30m high cores of free standing graphite bricks.

[@WhammeWhamme]

@@illdeletethismusic - indeed, there is actually a *dedicated website* selling stuff for farming spiders in Australia (specifically spiders, specifically Australia)... being a nation that essentially *only* exists at the intersection of two continental plates means we NZers really *really* need to SCIENCE earthquakes, wasn't the one in this video in California? California is not exactly the most tectonically stable place in the world either...

[@graceygrumble]

I would not have picked up on the resonant frequency of the building having to be taken into the equation. My knowledge of physics and mechanics is limited, but Tom's understanding and questioning made me understand ... in a way. Tom expressing wonder and fear had me gripped! Great stuff!

[@paulhaynes8045]

It's probably the most important factor!

[@ralanham76]

I was thinking about it when they said it. Because in a real earthquake the amount of energy and mass being moved is sort of irrelevant to the stuff on the surface.

[@dathat555]

The building can shake back and influence the table. A building can't shake the Earth.

[@paulhaynes8045]

@@dathat555 technically it can and does (Newton's third law) - but not that you'd notice. Certainly not in the middle of an earthquake!

[@eljanrimsa5843]

@@paulhaynes8045 would be awkward if an earthquake hits the resonant frequency of Earth and we lose our planet

[@JamesGilbert_]

Tom Scott consistently manages to make videos on things I don't at all care about, but always makes them extremely entertaining. Absolutely one of this site's best creators.

[@Yutaro-Yoshii]

You should have come to the E-defence shake table in Hyogo while your stay in Japan. It's the world's largest, and it can simulate x-y load up to 100cm, and z load up to 50cm. We also have smaller earthquake simulator cars (called 起震車) that travel around schools that let kids ride on it for them to learn about earthquakes. I think it'll make an interesting story.

[@phantonormia3790]

Tom Scott is gaining the information and understanding necessary to now be able to, alongside volcanic eruptions, now prevent earthquakes.

[@ann18o96]

The question is: were there earthquakes when he was in japan "recently"? 👀

[@phantonormia3790]

@@ann18o96 We'll never know, because if there were, they didn't happen.

[@ann18o96]

@@phantonormia3790 As long as we don't check it's schroedingers earthquakes

[@Atraxa-]

I noticed there were more camera angles during the interview portion than in previous videos! Definitely enjoyed the change!

[@balaam_7087]

I’m gonna cry when Mr Scott stops making videos. Nearly everything he puts out is endlessly fascinating and exactly the type of thing I’d daydream about, wondering ‘why is *this* like *that* ?’ or ‘What makes *that* work like *this* ?’🤔

[@tbotalpha8133]

Hopefully we've got a good while yet before we ever have to worry about that.

[@mishXY]

@@tbotalpha8133 isn't this the last year of constant uploads? he will reduce the frequency afterwards

[@GeneralKenobi69420]

Well...

[@Alucard-gt1zf]

The guy you're interviewing is such a natural, it's barely like an interview and more like two friends talking about their job

[@ahmad-murery]

The shaking sound is terrifying, we recently experienced some earthquake here in Syria and what's more terrifying was our buildings are not prepared to handle such situations. Thanks Tom

[@1pcfred]

I've only ever been in one earthquake and it was a quiet slow roller. I still thought I was having a seizure while it was happening. Because I watched the ground come up at me. I was thinking, it's not supposed to look like that. I thought I was having vision problems. But the ground had waves going through it like you'd have on the surface of water. It was rather disconcerting. I like my terra firma.

[@Martin-di9pp]

My thoughts went to the Syria/Turkey earthquake. It's so sad that we know how to construct buildings that can withstand such immense forces, but then some people chose not to to increase their profit margins.

[@ahmad-murery]

@@Martin-di9pp Thanks for your feeling, Most of the contractors are greedy and there is no authority to monitor them, even if that happens, they have cunning lawyers who take them out of their responsibilities and the poor people bear the fees.

[@1pcfred]

@@Martin-di9pp people do what they can. Not all choices are available to everyone all the time.

[@teopalafox]

​@@ahmad-mureryhuman experience is universal I guess, though this is to a different scale

[@loganskiwyse7823]

Interesting to see a bit of Ancient Japanese technology being applied to a modern building.

[@a2e5]

Mass timber (really, big pieces of engineered wood) is a fascinating building technology: you get to use all the cool wood-jointing methods, but the sizes you can build with are much bigger. And somehow it all stays strong and can even withstand some fire. One of the logos on the banner is the Japanese Sumitomo Forestry, which is planning to build a 70-storey wood skyscraper somewhere in Tokyo.

[@loganskiwyse7823]

@@a2e5 I watched a show on multi-story mountain homes built using this method. That was decades ago by the way. It's actually getting hard in the US to find good informative shows like that. Even the specialty channels fall short for me.

[@stephenwilliams163]

They told Tom "we're about to test. This area needs cleared for safety." Tom strapped on his jetpack and said "no problem "

[@shinyagumon7015]

The U-Turn was such a plot twist, that's so gnarley.

[@aidanbyrne8267]

Please share more footage of the shake in progress! I really want to see what all of the angles/shots looked like for the entire test

[@Tricia_K]

7:45 Thank you for saving me from a heart attack with that "↖️rainwater" caption...!

[@SeishiZero]

Riding in an earthquake retrofitted building during the 6.8 Seattle Nisqually quake in 2001, the biggest takeaway while crouching under my desk was how much the building continued to shake after the earth stopped moving. The earthquake lasted only 45 seconds but the building was still rocking and creaking for many minutes after the shaking stopped.

[@Nalehw]

I wonder if that's by design? Cushion the energy, spread it out over several minutes, rather than taking the full blow at once?

[@SeishiZero]

@@Nalehw 100%

[@andrewsmith9678]

Hi. Pipefitter here. That U-turn is an expansion joint. It’s necessary for the operation. Steel pipe is highly affected by temperature changes. That expansion joint allows the pipe to expand and contract without breaking any welds. Also, 5k psi isn’t as scary as you’re making it out to be. It’s common in power plants and refineries.

[@NameNotFound-hb5ef]

It was a pleasure to listen to this expert. You two did synchronize greatly.

[@hazonku]

Loved the interview. You just know when folks ask that guy what he does for a living he says, "I work in rock & roll." And then shows folks a video. And if he doesn't he SHOULD.

[@TheCJD89]

That is amazing engineering. I'd love to see it at 100% power

[@PrathamInCloud]

Building and you both won't exist to make a video later

[@firesurfer]

No, you don't.

[@DanLynch2814]

Thank you for translating imperial into metric, too often I watch something and have no idea what scale they're even talking about. Simply adding a conversion makes everything so much clearer.

[@achimhaun2726]

I have to admit, being a small supplier of equipment to refineries throughly desensitised me when it comes to fluid pressures xD

[@WyattWinters]

Knowing nothing of the subject, are the pressures in refineries comparable? Or way higher?

[@critical_always]

High pressures in large volumes surely makes a difference?

[@spdcrzy]

@@WyattWinters about the same, but MUCH higher volume - albeit only in certain locations. Also, no need for nearly as many safety control systems or overkill engineering since it isn't the entire facility that's pressurized - it's only the compressors where actual refinement is done.

[@bene5431]

I can imagine. I just noticed that swimming pools did desensitize me against the volume of fluid. These pipes are a bit smaller than those of an olympia pool

[@tz8785]

@@spdcrzy Also flow rates and pressures in refineries don't oscillate wildly (at least not as part of regular operation).

[@gnd22]

Got my Computer Engineering degree at UCSD many years ago and used to walk by the Structural Systems Laboratory building (with the neon vices and virtues) daily. Always wondered about what was going on in there. Really fun to see this and the interaction between Tom and Dr. Latfizadeh, brought back some familiar feelings. And yes, the shaking in the video shocked me! Seeing the building shimmy like that just seems so unnatural.

[@mateolucic687]

This looks like a nightmare for engineers. The amount of work it took to build all of that, I can't even imagine.

[@heist3326]

This is right by my house! I drove past this thing for years and only learned of its purpose recently. Thanks for covering it!

[@carlbutcher2268]

I'm curious as to what it looked like to you driving past. Was it just a weird ongoing construction site where they seemed to change what half-built building they had there every few years? Or did you know more than that? :o

[@heist3326]

@@carlbutcher2268 I thought they were building some military rappelling training thing since it's next to MCAS Miramar. The structure in the video popped up relatively recently.

[@scythal]

@@heist3326 How often do you see something shaking on the shake table?

[@heist3326]

@@scythalI've never seen the building shake before. It's a hundred yards or so from the main road and by the time you get closer to the driveway entrance, there are a ton of trees in the way. It's also just after a government vehicle only driveway access to a part of the base. The gate to the shake table was closed most of the time I drove by commuting, so I always incorrectly assumed it was associated with the military. There's not really a good spot to stop around there. You'd have to park in the neighborhood or across the highway and walk quite a bit to the sidewalk across the street to see the tall structure. I feel like any shaking from that distance would be a challenge to observe.

[@daedalusspacegames]

@@heist3326 “I thought they were building some military rappelling training thing since it's next to MCAS Miramar” I thought the same thing! I lived local to MCAS Miramar when I was in high school, still make my way that way occasionally to visit some friends, or the like. Crazy to think about Tom Scott making it to our neck of the woods, hey?

[@Brown95P]

Y'know, the shakes done by the building may be small, but on something this tall, it's genuinely frightening even from a computer screen. Little wonder Tom had the urge to run away.

[@airsoftuniversity]

For some reason, I was taken back the same way you were, Tom. Mouth agape, staring in awe. So much careful engineering coming together in what seems like a scenario that should have constant failures - but it's intentional. Controlled. Deliberate. What a feeling it would have been to witness that in person.

[@seldoon_nemar]

I just feel the need to mention that the red pipes at 3:30 are carrying 3,000 PSI. A standard industrial gas cylinder you use for welding, or helium, or o2 or whatever, is only pressurized to 2,500 PSI. It's also not as high risk as you'd think. that's mostly off the self plumbing believe it or not. Schedual 120 pipe if it's ~12" (12.75OD) with a nominal 1" wall and a burst around 3,800 psi.

[@1pcfred]

They haven't left themselves with much margin for error. But that's the modern era I suppose. There's no longer a safety factor in anything.

[@seldoon_nemar]

@@1pcfred that's a rough guess. it might be schedule 140 with a max allowed of 4,300 psi. schedule 160 clears 5k. now mind you, that's the max allowed working pressure, not the bursting point of the pipe. My point was that you can order most of that gear from a standard supply house, surprisingly. schedule 140 is so common it's also just called "XXS". schedule 40 is "STD", and 80 is "XS". and yes, it's standard, extra strong, and extra *extra* strong... as for safety margins, there's quite a big strain factor above working limits, much like lifting gear, if you're within spec you're good. You can also have limiting devices and such installed that will bleed pressure over an allowed pressure, so if operating pressure is 3k, something might spike it, so at 3500 psi, it forces a spring open and bleeds volume out of the system instead. it's as simple as a big ball bearing and a really big spring.

[@1pcfred]

@@seldoon_nemar if you have money someone will sell you anything. If they don't have it they'll get it.

[@emartin7166]

Love how proud this guy is of what he does. You can just tell he absolutely loves it.

[@lordsqueak]

Tom's reaction to everything really hammers home what would otherwise just be big numbers.

[@xystem4701]

I love how happy you can see the engineer is when Tom understands what he's talking about and just gets more and more excited and starts going off about fluid dynamics

[@andrewjones-productions]

As someone who lives in an earthquake zone and having just experienced a fairly strong one where a few light items fell off of their shelves, I cannot express my gratitude enough to those who research and test building techniques for their ability to withstand an earthquake.

[@1pcfred]

You're supposed to secure things with blue tack. Now go out and buy a package. It's cheap enough.

[@Tehom1]

Amazing, not just that it does the job and shakes the building, but for all the design consideration they put into how to stop it safely etc beyond just doing the shaking.

[@Mr.Redlego]

4:14 I've never seen someone get jumpscared by plumbing before.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

That could be the world's lamest horror game.

[@Michaelonyoutub]

This is one of your best videos Tom. Your basic understanding of fluid dynamics that you showed really help that engineer feel comfortable digging into the specifics of exactly the insanity of all of this.

[@PrestonFrankel]

Interesting to see what universities have specific features, that's why I'm glad these facilities and resources are open to other students and researchers

[@ishaan863]

Tom I have to give credit to your visual quality now. These videos used to have very perfectly functional aesthetics but recently I'm not sure what upgrades have been made, especially in that camera department, but these videos just look so much more pleasant. Eye candy along with brain candy. Great video!

[@EightThreeEight]

1:45 You can tell Tom was just mentally double-checking that he was getting pitch and yaw the right way around.

[@Georgewilliamherbert]

There is a smaller one of those at UC Berkeley that predates this one, but unlike this one at UCSD it's inside a building (Davis Hall) and the height limit is smaller than that. I'm not a student there anymore, but I saw small buildings shake tested and saw videos later of 2 and 3 story buildings shaken. Immense equipment.

[@tonytins]

Tom's reaction over the U-Turn was priceless.

[@danielgetter5993]

I am a practicing bridge engineer in California. UCSD has done so much for our state of practice over the decades. They deserve all the attention possible.

[@FukaiKokoro]

I recently experienced a earthquake and boy it was so much more strong than I was expecting. It was off the coast of California by eureka California and I'm near yreka which is very far inland. The house was shaking back and forth and when I ran outside I heard the power cables making a horrendous sound. Definitely scary.

[@rainwolfj]

One of the most humbling things about this video is that it takes an entire facility with numerous people, groups of specialists, and specialized machines and technology... so we can simulate a fraction of the Earth's power for a few seconds in a small location. It's awe inspiring how much we can achieve when we work together, but humbling when you remember how small it is in the greater scheme of existence.

[@miradrgn]

fun to see something so absolutely buckwild in the sheer scale and power of its engineering that tom can't help but be flabbergasted anew every 30 seconds

[@its_steeeeeeeve]

Your guide was amazing! I could listen to him all day for full lecture on the shake table.

[@WhitneyAvalon]

This is fascinating, Tom!

[@GustavoAraujoR]

I had the opportunity to be part of the subsequent phases of testing of a reduced version (6-story) of this building as a PhD student in civil engineering. It is amazing to see, even for us, the engineers who designed the structure! Thanks to Koorosh and the NHERI@UCSD staff for ensuring these tests run as smoothly as shown in the video.

[@andreasomalley8342]

My friend is studying civil engineering and he worked on this project!

[@camilaissas]

Tom's excitement when learning about new things is the cutest thing ever.

[@samuelmcgowan2565]

The scale of this is mindblowing.

[@ladyicondraco]

I love how the expert was clearly excited that Tom understood the issues once explained.

[@jimmyryan5880]

It blows my mind that people do science in imperial

[@robmoab3410]

I do seismic testing on a much smaller table at the university of Buffalo NY twice a year. It's amazing to be able to watch tests like this, and I would love to see this one in person!

[@lw8882]

"We're laughing, but that would be catastrophic." Humanity in a nutshell, really.

[@IAmMrGreat]

The building shaking at the end really sold it for me. 320 ton moving like that is absolutely ridiculous.

[@electroneurons]

Once again tom scott has taught me more then school

[@schmarcel4238]

*than Should have paid more attention in school.

[@savageraccoon787]

​@@schmarcel4238lol

[@korganrocks3995]

@@schmarcel4238 You beat me to it! 😄

[@Marc_Fuchs_1985]

Tom's honesty is delighting. "I know it's safe, but I want to turn and run". This is like RL Shakespeare.

[@BakeBakePi]

I can't believe that they can create that precise earthquakes, for that much weight!

[@roseastronautrecords8187]

Your personality makes these videos so good

[@SurrealNightmares]

In addition to the shaking tests, it also shows how long an earthquake can really last! I counted to about 30 seconds until the shaking ended.

[@matieyzaguirre]

that's a really short one though! Big earthquakes usually span several minutes, and even minor ones easily surpass the 30 second mark

[@OctyabrAprelya]

@@matieyzaguirre And those feel like hours.

[@markmurphy854]

The 1964 earthquake in Alaska was a 9.2 and lasted nearly 3 minutes.

[@alrightfolks7459]

One of the best Tom Scott videos in a while, really got into the thinking of the design of this experimental set-up. A lot of safety stuff is good!

[@Awesome_Aasim]

Japan has a similar shake table at the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention. This tech actually saves lives by testing buildings beforehand.

[@dan_zehner]

Our research network that UCSD is a part of collaborates closely with E Defense in Japan.

[@martin-uz1py]

As someone who uses shaker tables for their day job testing aircraft components seeing this is on another level. I never knew such a thing could even exist, the power of it must be incredible, thanks Tom for another great video.

[@CharlesRWard]

A long long time ago my shake table had a motor spinning an offset weight. Later we had one with coils like very large loudspeaker, controlled by an audio cassette tape. When I retired 6 years ago vibe used even bigger coils, but frequently would not let me test 2 units a day, probably because he total weight of the mount and unit under test was to big.

[@wbgeek]

I'm very curious about the Slippery When Wet sign at 4:59.

[@rankenfile]

Great topic and well produced. Loved it all, and it brought back memories of hydraulic fluid smell and the sound of the big PSU's.

[@-tsvk-]

Maybe I missed it, but what kind of earthquake was simulated here? What magnitude, how much x/y/z motion? It would be nice to be able to correlate the amount of building shaking to the stats of the earthquake.

[@matieyzaguirre]

just for the experience of living with (deep) earthquakes, I would say that's something between a 5.8 and a 6.5 Mw, the kind of thing that feels a bit frightening even if you're accustomed to them.

[@Ormil]

he didn't said how much, but from what i've seen it looks somewhere between 5-6 Mw which doesn't look like much, but still very scary and devastating.

[@JKVisFX]

Very cool stuff. Being a native Los Angelino, this project in particular is of great interest to me. I'm watching on a 65" monitor and, yes, the shaking camer through very clearly.

[@thorwillems9657]

Thanks for always informing us Tom!

[@cjxgraphics]

There is not a single part of that video that wasn't nerve-racking. The amount of hydraulic pressure, engineering, and watching a building wobble but not break apart are truly awe inspiring.

[@TizziQ]

5:36 Just a bunch of nerds giggling over actuators and damper systems. You love to see it.

[@GiltenDorn]

Thank you very much for the subtitles. It help me learn new things and English at the same time.

[@glenngriffon8032]

"I know its fine but I absolutely want to turn and run" Don't you just love the conflict between human brain going "Trust the math. The math is good." and instinctive primate brain going "The ground is mad at you, you're in danger."

[@General12th]

Math is good. But ground is *angry.*

[@tccschreiner]

I love how Dr. Lotfizadeh uses the Imperial System to describe the mass/length of the object, then says "Zed" to determine Z-axis.