

E-Defense, World's Largest Earthquake Seismic Testing Table - w00kie
http://www.alatown.com/testing-buildings-destruction/

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frogpelt
This is probably not feasible, but I wonder if they could put one of these
under buildings in earthquake-prone areas. It would be like a giant shock
absorber for the building.

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wiredfool
They do this, sort of. It's called base isolation, and essentially, they put
the whole structure on sliding bearings. (They don't do the vertical
component, but that's typically not as big of a deal as the shear forces.) It
takes some care dealing with utilities and connections to non-base isolated
things, but it's quite effective.

It's done for high value structures that have to be functioning through
emergencies, like emergency management centers and hospitals.

[edit I can't find documentation for this: I believe that the Bay Bridge has
some of the biggest ones ever made, at roughly 9 feet of travel. (Though that
was 20 years ago, and may not be current)]

