Questions tagged [building-physics]
The physics of buildings, specifically thermal conduction, convection, & radiation; heating and cooling; ventilation; transmission and management of water vapour & pollutants
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What is the purpose of these diversions in a natural gas line?
The campus where I work has a long covered walkway (~.5 mile) which has several labeled pipes running under the roof (chilled water, fuel oil, air...). All of the pipes run dead straight except for ...
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Cooling tower for nuclear power plants
Cooling towers for nuclear power plants often have the shape of a hyperboloid. At first glance, I thought that an obvious reason for this would be the smaller sectional area, meaning the tower would ...
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Can a horizontal foundation safeguard against earthquakes?
I have not taken any course in civil engineering. What I was taught was that a broad base would prevent something from toppling. So it makes me wondering instead of nailing the foundation of a ...
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Controlled demolition of a sky scraper?
Sky scrapers are often found in dense urban environments. Is there a known method to controllably demolish a sky scraper with minimal collateral damage?
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Can a crisscrossed metallic skeleton resist earthquakes for buildings?
To follow up with my previous question on the seismic design of buildings, I would like to ask if it makes sense to support buildings with strong thick 'crisscrossed' metallic frames.
I have the ...
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how would one calculate the % of heat not absorbed by a heat sink?
I'm planning on building a plant growth chamber inside a sealed/insulated 55 g rain barrel, and I'm trying to figure out how much of the heat from my lights will enter the chamber, and how much ...
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What does this equation mean?
$$\propto \dfrac {\text {Cross-Sectional Area}}{\text {Volume}} $$
I've seen this equation on my textbook (physics).
Let us imagine that there are two pen with $7$ and $3$ lenght. Which is harder ...
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