Swiss university inaugurates Europe’s most powerful centrifuge
The ETH Zurich geotechnical centrifuge measures nine metres across.
Keystone-SDA
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening: Swiss university inaugurates Europe’s most powerful centrifuge
The federal technology institute ETH Zurich has inaugurated Europe's most powerful geotechnical centrifuge. Researchers use the instrument to simulate the effects of natural hazards, such as earthquakes, on buildings.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Deutsch
de
ETH Zürich weiht leistungsstärkste Zentrifuge Europas ein
Original
Scientists at ETH Zurich create reduced-scale models and place them at one end of the spinning beam centrifuge. The models are then accelerated so strongly that the g-forces acting on them multiply. In this process the models are exposed to forces of up to 100 g – in other words, one hundred times the Earth’s gravitational force.
An object that weighs 10 kilograms when stationary behaves in the centrifuge as if it weighed a tonne. This increased gravity allows researchers to test models of buildings and other structures under conditions similar to those in the real world.
More
More
ETH Zurich ranked top university in Europe
This content was published on
The Swiss federal technology institute ETH Zurich is the best university in continental Europe, according to the Times Higher Education ranking.
The centrifuge can be put to a multitude of uses. For example, it can test bridge constructions. Over 90% of bridges in Switzerland were built before the 1990s and without any or only a simple earthquake-proof design. While retrofitting bridge piers is relatively simple, reinforcing foundations can be difficult, costly and time-consuming.
Offshore wind farms are another example. Far out at sea, these wind turbines are exposed to various forces of nature. Storms and earthquakes can cause the structure to tilt. Even small inclinations of 0.5 degrees can damage mechanical systems and shorten the service life of the turbine.
Translated from German by DeepL/sb
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
What factors should be taken into account when inheriting Swiss citizenship abroad?
Should there be a limit to the passing on of Swiss citizenship? Or is the current practice too strict and it should still be possible to register after the age of 25?
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
Record-breaking winter for Swiss tourism driven by foreign visitors
This content was published on
A survey by Switzerland Tourism suggests this winter has outdone last season's record, largely thanks to foreign visitors and favourable weather conditions.
Swiss study predicts rise in global antibiotic use in farming
This content was published on
Global antibiotic use in livestock farming could rise by 2040, says a study by FAO and the University of Zurich. Switzerland expects minimal change.
Initiative calls for 36-week parental leave in Switzerland
This content was published on
The initiative proposes 18 weeks of non-transferable leave per parent, to be taken alternately within ten years of implementation.
Over a quarter of Swiss Catholics consider leaving the church
This content was published on
In Switzerland 27% of Catholics have thought about leaving the church, according to a survey by the Sotomo research centre.
This content was published on
Following the Credit Suisse debacle, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) is adapting its organisation.
This content was published on
The Swiss Armed Forces are training their fighter jets in Bern to fly from a civilian base. The exercise at Bern Airport will last until Wednesday.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.