Will there ever be a mile-high skyscraper? - Stefan Al

Would a mile-high skyscraper ever be possible? Explore the physics behind some of the tallest buildings and megastructures in the world.
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In 1956, architect Frank Lloyd Wright proposed a mile-high skyscraper, a building five times as high as the Eiffel Tower. While this massive tower was never built, today bigger and bigger buildings are going up around the world. How did these impossible ideas turn into architectural opportunities? Stefan Al explains how these megastructures became fixtures of our city skylines.
Lesson by Stefan Al, directed by TED-Ed.
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[@lateforfate4614]

"17 pounds of force per square meter" Ah, the right balance between the imperial and metric system. Now nobody understands. Perfect!

[@fabulosospucas]

Ahmedşah Bilgi lol underrated comment

[@MrPotiste]

Also this is ridiculously low, wind pressure is more like 50 to 100 daN/m2 on tall buildings, that would be 100 to 200lb/m2

[@Exachad]

1 PSM = 0.45359237 KG/m^2

[@supercomputer0448]

Ahmedşah Bilgi well I know a meter is 3 feet so I'm fine

[@talvilai7141]

@@Exachad psm is used as a unit of force per unit area (AKA pressure) in the video. The kilogram is not a unit of force. The correct unit conversion is 1 psm = 4.448 221 615 260 5 Pa.

[@ziggy8253]

You know there’ll be a bar on the top floor called “The Mile-High Club.”

[@davidleshchiner5351]

Çağan u don’t know what the mile high club means I guess

[@randomspectator39]

The highest BAC ever recorded in history was 1.45

[@aeyvan]

David Leshchiner He does, that's why he emphasized on "technically".

[@rn-zu5ld]

Put a bar in a Boeing 747 and fly it 7000m

[@trinaantonettef.duremdes3772]

Totaly

[@Uiru11]

The african elephant is the KZbin standard unit (YSU) for mass.

[@AvailableUsernameTed]

They should use giraffe's as the measure of length.

[@Uiru11]

Pipe2DevNull No thats Eiffel Tower

[@pod_036]

I thought toyota corollas were

[@heliothrax7716]

For length its football fields.

[@Uiru11]

Ben Review xD

[@novelnouvel]

Throwing a paper plane from that high sure will be fun.

[@batman_2004]

Reminds me of my childhood, I used to do this every time I reach home after school.

[@keren.icehand]

Wow! That was awesome!💜👍

[@dankay2697]

Drop a penny

[@eugh8025]

The Litty Committee Legionary nah it would reach terminal velocity so Won’t not do any harm

[@dankay2697]

Potato King i was kidding and it would still be fun to watch it

[@fqidz]

inspirational dude: the sky's the limit skyscraper engineer: we'll see about that

[@rimshakhalid5037]

amazing_dude or don’t tell me sky’s the limit when There’s more galaxies to be discovered

[@fakedoorsfordinner1677]

I can touch the limit with my fingernail and stil exist

[@punkymonkey7207]

Don’t say sky is the limit when there are footprints on the moon.

[@AlexVoxel]

"Hold my beer" xD

[@fqidz]

@@AlexVoxel also give me 30 billion dollars and 5 years

[@Dent42]

"pounds per square meter" That's a new one

[@rexster76]

thought the same lol

[@thalespro9995]

Me too

[@monhi64]

Lmao didn't get it at first but I gotcha

[@shrrwynn]

Mathieu Poulin what about kilograms per square feet

[@huytrinhquang155]

It even hurts to read

[@Coolmark123]

Best narrator on KZbin

[@jamaicanwoman9375]

Coolmark that’s chills

[@SuperStriker7US]

That's LEMMiNO.

[@goldenfleece2600]

Omg coolmark!

[@batrayui1297]

dang, I hate this narrator.

[@zain4019]

Coolmark I like the psych2go narrator as well. She’s got a wonderful voice.

[@unvoicedreez4230]

“Elevator down, please use stairs”

[@inkedseahear]

HULK DOESN’T LIKE STAIRS

[@bluelightning3290]

......well seems like I can’t get to my room today

[@thickdog6936]

Going up 1 mile of stairs would make me more ripped than usain bolt

[@arizibra921]

Thick Dog Usain bolt isn’t that ripped. Track runners aren’t bodybuilders.

[@jacklumbago8031]

Ariz Ibra It’s a jk

[@nafisahmad8645]

netflix and chill? nah,ted-ed and chill

[@alainischileno]

Ted-ed & head

[@Moe__Jama]

@@alainischileno ted education and masturbation

[@rn-zu5ld]

@@Moe__Jama I don't even know what to say to that

[@nafisahmad8645]

@@Moe__Jama What the eff? :/

[@m3xoxo108]

ah now *that*, I’d agree to

[@davidguthary8147]

2:43 You can't just mix imperial and metric units like that!

[@keeganharris186]

He just did

[@Nikita_Turbo]

Ah, the african elephants, the universal unit of mass!

[@Bruh-jt3xq]

None Of That they use example like that because it’s easier to process as we know that elephants are big and weigh a lot

[@sigh-cosis]

At least no one had to ask if they were African or European elephants

[@Creativity06]

And the football stadium is SI unit for size

[@이병욱-q1j]

@@Bruh-jt3xq r/woooosh

[@shubhanigangal]

😂😂

[@hahanamegobrrr6667]

Ah, the mile-high tower or as engineers call it, the 1.6 kilometer-high tower

[@haroldinho9930]

Good one.

[@sushantmanandhar1387]

The 1.6x10⁶ mm tower

[@galgar5660]

Oh America, you and your unknown system of measurement! What the hell is a mile?

[@gol.drodger5261]

Think of 2 kilometre but slightly less.

[@bliebbloepblieb]

About 1.6km

[@josiaholah7433]

@@gol.drodger5261 no

[@GmoneyMozart]

Giulio D'Arrigo it’s the distance we measure to go to the moon.

[@gen2428]

doesn't NASA use the metric system for their missions

[@TheTexas1994]

That’s a 1.609 km tall skyscraper for those of you smart enough to stick with the metric system

[@JK_JK_JK_JK]

🙄

[@Marcopolo9]

Smh

[@DepCajado]

Thank you

[@sketchyskies8531]

Really? 😒

[@raharditowicaksono1056]

Meter*

[@samarendra109]

Finally a building where all the followers of TedEd can reside. 😊

[@hyoroemonmeto6874]

Time to test that Infinity Hotel paradox

[@ragavanbalaji7257]

@@hyoroemonmeto6874 yep

[@LoadingUser01]

Attach helium balloons at the top.

[@finnishguy4002]

To make a significant difference, you would probably need like zeppelin sized balloons. Im not sure if this is a joke, but if it is, 😂

[@AvailableUsernameTed]

Cool idea and maybe a way to escape if there were some disaster.

[@sharonc3465]

It's like Up, the skyscraper would just float around the world. Awesome!

[@pierrecurie]

Most balloons leak

[@Sir_Budginton]

@@AvailableUsernameTed The airship would have to be massive to carry any significant amount of people. The Hindenburg was absolutely massive, but it only carried about 100 people. (you could probably fit ~1500 if you packed them in like sardines). And a sky scraper that big would probably have 20,000+ people in it. And good luck getting that massive an airship near a building.

[@adnanilyas6368]

The speed of elevators isn’t limited by how fast we can move a heavy metal box anymore. It’s limited by the people who have to ride the thing. If you make elevators faster, the people inside will start to get sick and disoriented.

[@Bilalkhan-cx8pr]

Not necessarily. Planes and trains go much faster than this. Its not the speed, but the acceleration that matters. Just google Earths orbital speed and you'll be surprised at how fast we're all moving, constantly, and we don't feel a thing

[@dragenmaster5385]

@@Bilalkhan-cx8pr you cant feel earth orbital speed when you are on the ground but i get what ur trying to say, also we are just used to it since we were born, we will feel something if earth stop moving

[@JellybellyWaffles]

I already get disoriented from current elevators...

[@bcubed72]

@@Bilalkhan-cx8pr Trains don't go fast STRAIGHT UP, though. It's the decompression that gets you, not the g-forces.

[@Owledg]

not if we recreated space in a vacuum, then we would have zero friction or gravity pushing are limits of movement

[@kp5602]

"Why isnt there a mile high tower?" Cause 192/193 countries on earth dont believe in a mile.

[@camilleia]

S'cuse me, I'm in New Hampshire and we have miles.

[@camilleia]

So, 191/193.

[@kp5602]

@@camilleia New Hampshire is a US State

[@camilleia]

Oh sorry, I read state before. 😓

[@kp5602]

@@camilleia you thought there were 193 states in the us...

[@xcodfishx1]

I guess that's one way to join the mile-high club.

[@n4p3r0]

2:10 how did they break bedrock :o

[@askioas6315]

The engineers really were using creative mode.

[@BikiBop]

@@askioas6315 Bruh didn't you forget about the void?? How does the foundation stand?

[@Nugcon]

Recognize that bedrock, see you soon

[@FriendlyTheSoup]

hacks

[@channelofredacted2153]

@@BikiBop its an glitched chunk where the void doesn't exist

[@splash8205]

"17 pounds of force per square meter on a building" Oh wow so understandable -_-

[@BTroit]

If only there were established units for force over an area, like Pascals or PSI. Oh well, better compare it to bowling balls?

[@WompWompNootNoot]

Still using Imperial is bad enough but using both Imperial and Metric is only going to confuse literally everybody

[@chao2229]

Read this when i heard it

[@rayhanmansoor2951]

I live in Dubai and can see the tallest building in the world everyday when I go to school

[@ritikchawla8298]

Go*

[@joopiteromi]

Agree. Even if I go to far places like Jebal Ali or Al Qusais, I still see a glimpse of Burj Khalifa. Even if I go to Sharjah, I still see the burj.

[@TheReal_ist]

Was the tallest* it will be surpassed and then your building will be worthless. How u feel about that kid......

[@trobjonr]

@@TheReal_ist what is wrong with you?

[@rn-zu5ld]

@@TheReal_ist how do you feel that north Korea has the largest hotel and it's not the Americans (please don't hate me it only joke)

[@khadijafatma4532]

I won't use elevator to get to the top of that skyscrapper. I would just fold paper 30 times ;)

[@khadijafatma4532]

@Chef Dexter Bro, engineers are supposed to be smart ;)

[@Mystic-4252]

md saad Yeah your right, but How big will the paper be to achieve 30 folds?

[@chiongmathewjoseph3974]

@@Mystic-4252 size doesnt matter it still stops at 7

[@khadijafatma4532]

@@Mystic-4252 Basically size does not matter.....thickness is the main deal. If you are familiar with Geometric Progressions then let me tell you that this very thing happens when we fold a paper. Let us suppose that the thickness of a paper be 40 microns, after one fold it's thickness will become 80 microns, in 2nd fold thickness will become 160 microns ie. thickness increases by a factor of 2 in each fold and such type of growth is exponential growth ie it increases very fast. However this is practically not feasible.We can't fold a given paper after some folds. Such operation with paper only exists on paper :-)

[@anjumbanushaik1388]

I didn't understand. Can you plzz explain?

[@ilikesloths8575]

Im sick today. Its so calming to hear your voice, and I REALLY wish my school taught us things like you do!

[@lesb1anEvilWubb0x]

IceWing in a Ted Ed video :)

[@yanwato9050]

2:45 17lb... per meter? Umm... Either use metric or imperial. Don't mix the two!

[@benking1334]

He's just trying to confuse us

[@sexysalmon4411]

don't use imperial

[@Sethslayer1147]

Goes as well as mixing sodium and water

[@Milesco]

Yeah, that was bizarre.

[@carkid6764]

I am doing virtual scouting and I have to watch a bunch of videos, I thought they would be boring only until TED-Ed came along!!!

[@paritoshjha28]

Seeing ted ed videos is always worth time, always

[@alexzais1935]

Come on Chicago. Let's get this building made and be on the throne once again!

[@Sheol02]

A mile-high skyscraper? - Absolutely barbaric. A kilometer-high skyscraper? - An architect of culture.

[@pedrolmlkzk]

A kilometre and a half skycraper*

[@finnishguy4002]

@@pedrolmlkzk A 1609 meter high building*

[@SuperStriker7US]

What? A mile high skyscraper would be far better because it would be much taller it would literally be a giant pieces of art far much more than a kilometer high skyscraper.

[@finnishguy4002]

@@SuperStriker7US Well how about a 2 kilometer skyscraper!???

[@williamkrause5831]

Finnish Guy how about a 2 MILE skyscraper?

[@ritikchawla8298]

So many uploads from ted-ed. This is life.

[@gta4everrr]

Great video. Beautifully animated and narrated as usual

[@UnsignedMusiczPromotions]

i'm studying to be a structural engineer and this video was amazing and well put together without much jargon

[@andromeda4641]

This guy's voice never gets old

[@95GuitarMan13]

Yessssss! Love seeing architecture topics on Ted-Ed

[@moniruzzamanmonir1598]

Love it, we want more video about engineering, please

[@chickenlegpiece4402]

I love it when the video starts with a quote

[@rootbeerjayhawks2986]

Ted-Ed: Soon we will be able to build a mile high skyscraper Me: barely keeping my pillow fort from collapsing

[@manroopsinghnanda44]

Its just incredible how yoh have coupled science with visuals and sounds to make it easy for the viewers to understand

[@bootstrap925]

ted ed: *doesnt use metric system* literally everyone: REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[@FriendlyTheSoup]

@@randomtttt yes

[@DanielW607]

@@randomtttt no

[@omkarnagarhalli5217]

How did you dig into bedrock? What is this, creative mode?

[@lunardust459]

Mods

[@ZAGAD-i2x]

No superflat world

[@nedwork]

omg are you mc trolling

[@keshawncodysafiyar7208]

I was just gunna say something like that

[@Wakwaw796]

Full Automatic Bedrock Farm

[@poweroffriendship2.0]

*Building a tall tower in Jenga in the nutshell*

[@monteiro5306]

Awesome video. Amazing job as always. TED-Ed : You rock !!!!👍👍👍👍

[@Slick_rider]

“In case of emergency use stairs” everyone above the 5th floor dead

[@geeknat8981]

That would make many legs very sad

[@kawhijones6298]

One of the most useful TedEd videos.

[@farhaankhan5868]

I am a structural engineer starting my career...Someday I will be the member of an iconic skyscraper.. That's my dream

[@arvindk451]

That's every structural engineer's wet dream. That and winning an argument against a whining architect (read, lunatic)

[@farhaankhan5868]

@@arvindk451 are you an architect??

[@arvindk451]

@@farhaankhan5868 Fortunately, no. I am a highway engineer.

[@farhaankhan5868]

@@arvindk451 good

[@farhaankhan5868]

Fortunately, I am a structural engineer 😃

[@ei3650]

the most intuitive animation I’ve ever seen.

[@LuinTathren]

I was just talking to my mom about the counterweight in Taipei 101. Thanks for the video. Great job!

[@zacharykoplin6543]

Hey, what about a kilometre high skyscraper! METRIC UNITS FOREVER!!!!

[@fg00000]

We can build a mile high wall! *trump wants to know your location*

[@sergiontothetop]

Ayy lmao

[@appalachianwolf1187]

Good meme

[@keshawncodysafiyar7208]

Haheyu

[@justhannah9031]

I have a phobia of tall buildings and I have no idea why I am watching this.

[@Gaurav_thakur_vlogs_01]

I love your work love from India I have seen all your mythical videos Make some lessons on Indian myths There's a ton of them

[@feathy_1014]

Better not be subscribed to t series

[@vishu9061]

@@feathy_1014 lmao

[@RajShekhar-jy2zi]

@@feathy_1014 im indian and i approve . Better not be subscribed to Tseries . Sub to pewds

[@oorjitsharma2287]

Nice hair

[@Think_Inc]

Metric, Imperial or anything else the channel,the narrator and the animators;according to me; are the best in the world...Actually the hole universe;including the known and the unknown universe;or should I say these guys will impress GODS!!!!!

[@vj5160]

Somehow every night I find myself watching random videos like these

[@utsosoumyo76]

Damn ! I think architect and civil engineers are the best ou of all! Respect to you guys

[@yellowmalice3036]

A much more substantial question would be: Do we (anybody in the world) actually NEED a mile high skyscraper?? What purpose would such a building fulfill?

[@tbdaae2184]

it would look cool; attract tourists

[@jackgibsxxx0750]

​@@tbdaae2184... I may go to see it but I'm not going up.

[@elladillon8280]

Never knew this but there’s always room to learn!😇

[@usama57926]

thank u so much very intresting video

[@wtfarsh]

All of your videos have this specific voice. The narrator's voice, which feels more like a computer generated one. It's soothing, how do you achieve that? Is there really a narrator or is it something else?

[@alexwilliams1575]

I went from watching the infographic show to watching vox to TED-ED there's no place like home 👍👊✌😎

[@mdderrek9280]

This is an amazing one !!

[@audigamer8261]

4:08 they will be freefall simulations

[@mr.minnesoulja1257]

Ted-Ed and Kurzgesagt have the best educational videos!

[@MattRoszak]

Good video, but it doesn't really answer the question: Is the technology we have today or in the near future enough to build a mile-high skyscraper? Or do we still need some huge technological leap?

[@marlonmoncrieffe0728]

Yeah, SciShow's episode on this subject was better.

[@fullStackInKannada]

Nice information. I always like the Ted-Ed Channel. Because always nice information. :)

[@nyanya4566]

Gotta give more respect to civil engineers who make these structures stand can stand and not just the architects who design the aesthetics

[@allison0830]

drawing style totally on point

[@jasper4549]

If the building is a apartment complex and you live on the top floor it’s quite easy to get into the mile high club

[@ishirk7432]

ted ed makes really good videos

[@aaronboothproduction]

How does the CN Tower in Toronto stack up though? I know for many years it was the tallest structure on earth.

[@abdallababikir4473]

Hmm

[@krashd]

Surely it would be one floor on top of another like most other skyscrapers, no?

[@NomadUrpagi]

Can't wait to see the building as tall as The Shard from Mirror's Edge. That game and it's soundtrack hooked me so hard on cybercity vibes.

[@riz2k179]

Arabs next build : "Mia Khalifa Tower"

[@victory112]

Lisa Ann sounds better

[@batman_2004]

Haha

[@Pedro-tm6ue]

It cannot be done: due to the large bulge in the upper(ish) section, it would come crumbling down.

[@yusuflaja3851]

Who's mia khalifa I don't have wisdom

[@52flyingbicycles]

Taking “mile high club” a bit seriously eh?

[@yussofross1417]

I love Ted Ed videos.

[@whynot-tomorrow_1945]

Hol up...3:44 You mean that giant ball in Saints Row 3 actually exists and serves a purpose??

[@brucelin5671]

Ted Ed, this is great video, but I wanted this in the video when you started to talk about wind and tuned mass dampers: The Plywood Skyscraper of Boston

[@TheWarrrenator]

Skyscrapers should have floors dedicated to wind turbines to generate energy from the wind force and to make the buildings more aerodynamic.

[@stormveil]

Check out the 'Bahrain World Trade Centre'. It has 3 turbines between it's 2 towers :)

[@adamkendall997]

That would technically put more of a wind load on the building. Also wind generators vibrate loudly and would shake the building

[@bcubed72]

Actually would make it LESS aerodynamic.

[@keren.icehand]

Wow! This is so awesome!👍👏👏👏

[@dulynoted2427]

Who’s gonna want to live in this? Once it catches fire, you have nearly a mile to get out.

[@royalpillows7716]

So it’s just like your daily excersrize

[@ImranAli-gy1kj]

You could exercise by the stairs if there are some

[@navigation4653]

00:46 can’t wait to see it finished

[@InfiniteZebrasSquared]

What's That In Freedom Units?

[@pcgupta9]

Best video ever seen. Of buildings

[@naseebali3413]

Just wait for the 1.17 minecraft update the build limit is being raised

[@vincentlin8692]

The tuned mass damper in Taipei 101 is a pendulum tuned mass damper, it uses a double pendulum oscillation phenomenon for it to work, it transfers the energy from the wobbling skyscraper to the pendulum every few oscillations

[@adamkendall997]

Ok. Boats displace water and float.

[@vincentlin8692]

Just correcting that the mass damper doesnt use friction like this vid suggested,

[@stormysamreen7062]

Isnt the kingdom tower in ksa currently under construction going to be 1KM high?? Oh wait ... it says 'mile'

[@sven253]

Cool video!! I also got an deja-vu during this video.

[@mikaelm16]

Real Life: **No mile high building** Creative mode dirt towers: Pathetic

[@palava8500]

Would be 1000 blocks of dirt

[@hamchewyung6184]

height limit for minecraft blocks is 256, 3 and a half times shorter than Burj Khalifa.

[@nabhchandra_]

Great video as always! Loved the animation 😄

[@Junokaii]

You should make a video on the X-Seed 4000, a proposed building capable of holding 1,000,000 within it to live/work. This building was thought to be so big that it could potentially change the environment around it.

[@jackgibsxxx0750]

You mean Manhattan.

[@mjstory1976]

Awesome and informative video

[@LucidDreamer54321]

There already are skyscrapers that are a mile high. However, there are no skyscrapers that are a mile tall.

[@7231Matt]

Please thank your graphics team for showing the Sears Tower (as it was called at the time) as taller than the Petronas Towers or Taipei 101.

[@nolin132]

People really clicking on a video titled "mile high skyscraper" then complaining when it doesn't use metric. Watch a different video!

[@zhubajie6940]

On the Taipei 101 tour , you get to see the giant ball and damping system. The scale of the building is mind blowing.

[@awesomedez]

I have a fear of heights, so the higher the noper

[@LudicrousTorpedo]

We wanted to pushed to the limits

[@Bracus.Reghusk]

Merci d'avoir traduit en français 😊

[@aaleh_04]

We cannot make elevators going any faster than today's fastest elevator by Kone, since people would otherwise get sick because of the pressure changes.

[@charliej4665]

Your voice is relaxing

[@monkeydluffy2062]

This isn't a question of will we able to but a question of when we able to

[@garybrown2039]

As well as “who”

[@Mr125Anonymous]

At 0:42 it looks like the top floor of the One WTC tower is higher than the top floor of the Sears Tower, but that's not actually true. The Sears tower has a higher top floor, but the One WTC tower is technically taller due to its tall spire at the top.

[@ragefury1817]

*Can't find a strong enough brick for your tower , just use a Nokia* , badddamb thhhissss, I'll see myself out

[@batman_2004]

Haha.

[@kluez8725]

Cringe

[@ragavanbalaji7257]

@@alvynilhamkurniawan1854 dont use nokias it will cause the end of the world by cracking it in half

[@john_hunter_]

So what would it take to crush one of these building from top to bottom, just by dropping something on it from the height of 1 story above?