California Earthquake Simulation Rides

What might seem like a ride at Universal Studios called "The Big One" is actually an experiment designed to safeguard Californians from sizable tremors. A three-story, 400-ton concrete structure hummed, tumbled, and groaned earlier this week in the San Diego area as part of an earthquake simulation project to test the strength of precast concrete. The goal is to design with more secure and flexible building material to keep structures from coming apart during larger quakes.

Is precast concrete a safer solution for the survival of California's parking and freeway structures during, say, an 8.0 earthquake? Several dozen engineers and researchers looked on during a series of trials simulating aggressive natural tremors to the test structure. The result? The structure did not appear to be damaged, in spite of powerful shaking, however, tests are scheduled to continue through the coming month.