Disir
Platinum Member
- Sep 30, 2011
- 28,003
- 9,608
- 910
Roman amphitheaters are among the most ancient human constructions on Earth. These structures are remarkably well preserved in various places across the ancient Roman empire.
That’s especially remarkable because much of this territory is seismically active: it sits on the tectonic boundary between the Eurasian and African plates and has experienced numerous earthquakes that have destroyed other types of buildings. So just how these amphitheaters have survived for 2,000 years is something of a puzzle.
Today we get a potential answer thanks to the work of Stéphane Brûlé and colleagues at Aix-Marseille University in southern France. These guys have studied the way that certain structures buried in the ground, or sitting on top of it, can modify the way seismic waves travel through the Earth. In particular, they have studied “seismic invisibility cloaks” that can steer seismic waves around specific regions and thereby protect them.
Their conclusion is that Roman amphitheaters may act as seismic invisibility cloaks thanks to their shape. This, they say, is the reason for their remarkable longevity.
First some background. Physicists have long known that certain regular patterns of objects can interact with waves in a way that steers them and modifies their behavior. A curious feature of this phenomenon is that the objects themselves are much smaller than the waves themselves. But the combined effect of many objects arranged in a regular pattern has an important influence on the waves.
Roman amphitheaters act like seismic invisibility cloaks
That's pretty cool.
That’s especially remarkable because much of this territory is seismically active: it sits on the tectonic boundary between the Eurasian and African plates and has experienced numerous earthquakes that have destroyed other types of buildings. So just how these amphitheaters have survived for 2,000 years is something of a puzzle.
Today we get a potential answer thanks to the work of Stéphane Brûlé and colleagues at Aix-Marseille University in southern France. These guys have studied the way that certain structures buried in the ground, or sitting on top of it, can modify the way seismic waves travel through the Earth. In particular, they have studied “seismic invisibility cloaks” that can steer seismic waves around specific regions and thereby protect them.
Their conclusion is that Roman amphitheaters may act as seismic invisibility cloaks thanks to their shape. This, they say, is the reason for their remarkable longevity.
First some background. Physicists have long known that certain regular patterns of objects can interact with waves in a way that steers them and modifies their behavior. A curious feature of this phenomenon is that the objects themselves are much smaller than the waves themselves. But the combined effect of many objects arranged in a regular pattern has an important influence on the waves.
Roman amphitheaters act like seismic invisibility cloaks
That's pretty cool.
