Fun Structures

Clack, clack, whoosh! Scream, turn green, and wonder why you had a hot dog for lunch. Ah, the joys of a roller coaster--one of the scariest structures around. But scary as they are, coasters are basically just bridges with incredibly steep hills. Coasters' triangular trusses make them extremely strong structures--remember the triangle is the only shape not deformed by loads placed on it. That should give you some comfort next time you strap yourself into a roller coaster and prepare to hang on for dear life!

What sleeps two people, weighs about 4 kg, gives you the most space for the least material, takes minutes to set up, and withstands winds up to 130 km/h? If you've been at a campground lately, you know the answer: a dome-shaped, nylon tent. Lightweight aluminum poles, bent into arches, form the tent skeleton. The tent's thin skin (material) is kept in tension by the poles. Put it all together, and you get one strong, rigid, compact tension structure. Wow, all that, and it keeps you dry in a thunderstorm too!

· At 553 metres (that's over five football fields stacked end-to-end), this is the highest free-standing structure in the world.
· Two ten-tonne doughnut-shaped counterweights (called dampers) circle the antenna. These dampers offset tower movement.
· The antenna and parts of the Sky Pod are covered with slippery fibreglass to stop ice forming and falling on people below.
· It's designed to withstand 420 km/h winds.
· From the Space Deck on a clear day, you can see more than 160 kilometres in every direction.
· A helicopter was used to lift the 39 sections of the 102 metre steel antenna into place. (The antenna broadcasts radio and television signals.)
· The tower is basically three wide, hollow legs built around a central core.
· Made of reinforced concrete, the tower weighs 118,000 tonnes--more than 23,000 large elephants!
· The tower is struck by lightning about 75 times per year.
· In 1979, stunt man Dar Robinson earned $100,000 for jumping off the tower. His parachute opened 90 metres above the ground.
· The record for the longest rappel down the side of a building was set on the tower in 1992.

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