
Rockets help build Chinese bridge higher than Empire State Building - robg
http://deputy-dog.com/2008/11/rockets-help-build-bridge-higher-than.html
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sh1mmer
I constantly find the Chinese inspiring. Their construction seem to span an
interesting divide between high tech and low tech. Their high availability of
cheap labor being one of the primary factors enabling construction which would
be considered prohibitive in the western world.

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newsycaccount
So if I lay a plank over the 300ft deep well on my property, it is "a bridge
higher than a 30 story building"?

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alexandros
the article says the bridghe is that high -above- the ground. The depth below
is not factored in, at least as I read it.

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ComputerGuru
_the deck of the bridge has just recently been connected over the valley below
and is so high above the ground that you could fit the empire state building
underneath it, and still have 360ft spare._

No, they're referring to the distance from the lowest point in the valley...
so, yes, the plank over the well would be on-par with this Chinese innovation.

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nfg
Only if he used a rocket to lay the plank.

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potatolicious
And only if his well diameter is some 1+ km across.

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breily
This seems pretty innovative, but how do they stop the rockets when they get
to the other side? Seems like a very dangerous method.

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trickjarrett
Giant catchers mitt ordered from ACME!

In all seriousness, the mountain takes care of that for them I suspect. It's
probably burned all the fuel in flight and thus they just have to stand clear
once it lands on the other side.

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halo
This is a natural extension of an idea that dates back centuries. One old-
fashioned way to build a suspension bridge is to use a bow-and-arrow to get an
initial rope across. Once that's done, you can attach a stronger rope to the
end of it and pull it across. This is the exact same solution in a more high-
tech guise.

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alexandros
This really goes to show that the chinese can and do innovate, contrary to the
preconception.

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wensing
Yes, except that, as with the Beijing Olympics, I can't shake the knowledge
that as they perform these marvelous feats, deep problems linger.

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chaostheory
as with the 3 gorges dam, I have a bad feeling about any shortcuts or cost
cutting methods taken...

seems that even with the threat of the death penalty for company officials, it
still doesn't stop shady practices

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Prrometheus
Well, duh, they have Yao Ming.

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eucalyptus
That's really cool.

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zcoelius
This looks like digg. What is happening to this site?

