SQJ Taipei

Many of you who have visited us have been to the top of Taipei 101. The views are amazing… but one of the most interesting things you can see at the top is the 730 ton tuned mass damper which provides stability during high winds or earthquakes. Some of you who have visited are physics nerds like me and you probably liked seeing the mass damper (and the elevator ride) at least as much as the views. I’m sorry I can’t remember his name, but I’m specifically thinking of the guy from Bettendorf, IA who works at the nuclear plant…

I didn’t even feel the Sichuan earthquake back on May 12, but the people at the top of Taipei 101 did and someone got a video of the tuned mass damper doing its job. Every single time I go there I’m sorta hoping for a small tremor so I can watch it in action… but this is crazy. I can’t imagine it on an earthquake closer to home. Sichuan is 1800kms (1100mi) from Taipei…

I’m going to share the youtube video below, but you’d really learn a lot more by going to this page where I found the video because there is a lot more information there about how tuned mass dampers work and how this one sits in Taipei 101.