My first case study is this simple card tower. The cards act as supports by transmitting the forces through them, much larger towers can be created and these support the larger loads by spreading force from the weight across a larger base area. The real problem involved comes from the lack of friction in the card's material; friction is needed to oppose the outward movement at the base of the cards. This is solved partly by placing a rougher material under the foundation, preventing the cards from slipping. The card tower is also an example of the weakness of pivots, the smallest force can lead to a total collapse of the tower and a very sad builder, this explains why building foundations are built firmly beneath ground.To make up for the lack of effort involved with my tower I youtubed the greatest card creations and found this It's interesting to see that he uses a honeycomb like structure to aid the building by decreasing pressure. Engineering at work! It's still cheating though.
Photo taken by Tom Corbett, Feb 2009
Post by Tom Corbett
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