What is Building: Definition and 918 Discussions

A building, or edifice, is a structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, and have been adapted throughout history for a wide number of factors, from building materials available, to weather conditions, land prices, ground conditions, specific uses, and aesthetic reasons. To better understand the term building compare the list of nonbuilding structures.
Buildings serve several societal needs – primarily as shelter from weather, security, living space, privacy, to store belongings, and to comfortably live and work. A building as a shelter represents a physical division of the human habitat (a place of comfort and safety) and the outside (a place that at times may be harsh and harmful).
Ever since the first cave paintings, buildings have also become objects or canvasses of much artistic expression. In recent years, interest in sustainable planning and building practices has also become an intentional part of the design process of many new buildings and other structures.

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  1. L

    Designing and building a mass spectrometer.

    I am a double major in EE and physics and I was thinking that a great senior project would be to design and build my own mass spectrometer. I would not only like to build the basic device, but also calibrate the device so that it provides the m/q value based on the radius of curvature caused by...
  2. A

    Build a Steel Trebuchet to Throw 20-30lbs 300ft+

    I am building a Trebuchet That is made out of steel and is about 8 feet tall, with a 1000 pound weight. here is what i need to know. I want it to throw a 20 to 30 pound object 300 ft or more. What Does the length of the arm with the weight and the length of the trowing arm have to be. To...
  3. A

    Building an Ion Propulsion Unit At Home: Possible?

    i have had an idea for a few years and am finally starting to go forward with it.. i need to know if it is possible to build an ion propulsion unit at home. being that it is on the Earth and not in space does it need a defuser? can it be made to run on 110v? i don't need it huge to start. i just...
  4. Andre

    What Does New Research Reveal About the End of the Last Glacial Period?

    Today I'd like to draw the attention to the end of the last glacial period. Those who have looked at ice core graphs may recall that the Antarctic ice cores appeared to react first around 17,000 years ago and then with a relative mild change in isotope values (interpreted as temperature change)...
  5. J

    Build a Strong Bridge with Limited Resources: A Budget-Friendly Challenge

    Here's a little challenge: You need to build a bridge to fill a 40-cm gap. The bridge must be able to support 1kg for 10 seconds and flex no more than 2.5 cm. Your budget is $95 million. Materials given are 18-cm straws at $1m, 18-cm toothpicks at 18-cm each at $5m, 6-cm toothpicks at $20m...
  6. J

    How Can I Achieve 270 Degrees Celsius with a 12V 500mA Adapter and Wire?

    im trying to produce about 270degrees celcius and have a 12v 500ma adapter i plug into the wall, I've wound the wire from a toaster round a nail, imn not getting enough heat though. I've tryed 5 small lenghts in parallel a single long piece, a single short piece... so tell me, what...
  7. A

    Building a High-Current, High-Frequency Pulse Generator

    Hi, I need some help/ideas/direction... I need to build a pulse generator that is capable of generating a peak current between 100A~1000A that lasts for about 0.5ns and can be ready to pulse again in 0.5ns so the frequency of operation is around 1Ghz Help! Thanks
  8. D

    What are the best resources for designing a low-noise 60W tube amp?

    Hey everyone! I have a project going on with a friend...a hifi tube amp! yeehaw! Im going to start small the 60 watt range (30 per channel) and am wondering if anyone has any recommended reading for tube amp circuits, i need a book that gets right down into the dirt of tubes so that i can...
  9. Cyrus

    Building a J-3 Piper Cub with an Electric Motor

    I ordered all my parts for my new airplane today. It's a J-3 Piper Cub with an 80" wingspan. Normally it runs on a .46 glow fuel motor, but I am going to run it on an electric motor instead. (Not an easy conversion process) http://www.uploadfile.info/uploads/a3c80b0987.jpg It's a fun...
  10. F

    Building a Farnsworth-Hirsch-Fusor: Pressure Requirements for Bell Jar

    Hi, I like to build a Farnsworth-Hirsch-Fusor for a school project. I want to use an ordinary bell jar but I am not quite sure if it will work at the pressure I need (0.1-10pa). Does anybody know how much pressure a bell jar can take?
  11. A

    Mathematica Building a hybrid and dynamic mathematical space

    building a "hybrid" and dynamic mathematical space Hello, Maybe I'm going to say very stupid or crazy thing for real mathematicians (I'm an architect): I want to build a concept that I call "dynamic abstract space" ("das" from now) for a digital architecture project. I would like to be able...
  12. T

    Building a cabinet need gas spring lbs selection

    hi i hope this post is in the correct forum as i am new here. i am doing a home project and building custom cabinet/trunk that opens like a car hood. i am in the process of buying gas springs to ease in the closing and opening of the door/lid (and to stay open when at the top position). i...
  13. edward

    News U.S. is building permanent bases in Iraq

    According to recent news reports, the U.S. military is planning on a very long stay in Iraq. According to my local paper that 6000 seat dining facility is costing $14 million and much of the concrete mentioned was poured by Turkish? workers. HI HO Haliburton. This war is about oil, it...
  14. K

    Building a Voltmeter, need IC datasheet help

    I am building an autoranging digital voltmeter as the subject line suggests and am having a problem with the ICL7107 chip that I am using. Looking at figure 15 on: http://www.intersil.com/data/fn/fn3082.pdf specifically RefHI and RefLO, with a 2V max input difference between the pos and neg...
  15. N

    Preparing Clay Core for Building a Dam

    Hi! I have one question about dams When building a dam with clay core you must prepare that core ( so the moisture would be optimal , geomechanical characteristics would be satisfied and that sort of things,don't have time to elaborate all) I have heard on lectures that there are two ways to...
  16. A

    Building a Gravity-Powered Vehicle: 5 Meter Challenge

    i have to build a vehicle "powered soely by gravitational potential energy that will travel at least a linewar distance of 5 meters under its own power. no elastic potential energy (such as a mousetrap) allowed" i was wondering if anyone out there had any idea on where to start or knew of a...
  17. C

    Calculating Speed to Catch a Ball Thrown from a Building

    im practically lost in physics and need some help. it would be greatly appreciated. A ball is thrown upward from the top of a 25.6 m tall building. The ball's initial speed is 12 m/s. At the same instant, a person is running on the ground at a distance of 29.4 m from the building. What must...
  18. J

    Optics: building a camera with quasi-hemispherical recording surface, what lens?

    I make Daguerreotypes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daguerreotype) and I have decided that I want to move from the standard flat-plane photography and make images on silver domes instead. I have domes that are 1.85" in diameter and I want to replicate the effect that a garden gazing ball gives...
  19. T

    Finding the Right Software for Building Energy Simulation

    Does anyone know any good software to calculate the need for cooling/heating and such in builidings? One where I can change properties of almost every building aspect, such as wall-thickness, insulation, sun conditions, windows, outside temp, inside temp, and so on to find the energy needed to...
  20. A

    Building a Rocket: Airbag Landing Basics

    Hi, I'm building a rocket, and my team is planning to use airbags to protect the tanks from crushing during landing. I'm a newbie at this, and I want to know where I should start:) Thanks
  21. A

    Building a sensor and making measurements

    Hey for a project, i have to build a sensor of any sort, and then make loads of measurements to see how accurate it is ect, what do you think would be a good sensor to build. it needs to be complex but not extreme! i am in 6th form takes A.s physics! any ideas would be greatfull. thanks alex!
  22. BobG

    Mt Carmel College of Nursing: Before & After

    Here's a picture of Mt Carmel College of Nursing in Columbus, OH. Pretty impressive looking. Mt Carmel College of Nursing The medical staff surrounding the patient is a nice touch. Arch closeup What makes it more impressive is what the building looked like before the renovation. Mt...
  23. P

    A ball is thrown from the roof of a building

    It is s(t)=245+24.5t-4.9t(sqrd) meters from the ground (t) after it is thrown. s(t) = displacement function that describes the position of the ball from the ground at time t. Determine height of building, time it takes the ball to reach the ground and the velocity when it hits the ground.I've...
  24. O

    How can I regulate the voltage of my battery pack for my small video camera?

    Hi, I built a 7.2 V battery pack using two rechargeable 3.6V dc batteries. They eventually died and I purchased some different new 3.6 V replacements. Unfortunately, when these are charged they pump out a total of 8+ volts and shut down my device. I'm an electronics dummy other than the...
  25. F

    Building a crumple zone

    For a school project I have to build a device made of only toothpicks and glue gun glue that will hold an egg. The device will be dropped 5 meters and the egg must not break, so the idea is to build a device with a good crumple zone. I have a few ideas about how to build it but its pretty hard...
  26. L

    Throwing a ball from the roof of a building

    A ball is thrown horizontally from the roof of a building 54 m tall and lands 50 m from the base. What was the ball's initial speed? I have been set this question and I'm a little stuck...here is the information I have extracted from the question: sv = -54 sh = 50 v = ? a = -9.81 I...
  27. S

    Use mercury barometer to fing height of building

    A mercury barometer reads 700.0 mm on the roof of a building and 715 mm on the ground. Assuming a constant value of 1.29 kg/m3 for the density of air, determine the height of the building. . My setup was finding the difference in the pressures for mercury and get 15 mm Hg Then use Hg density...
  28. F

    News Why does the US have a large building dedicated to war

    Question; Why does the US have a large building dedicated to offence, or murder or war? Why not poverty reduction? Is this democracy?
  29. M

    Barometric pressure to find height of building

    A mercury barometer reads 740 mm on the roof of a building and 760.0 mm on the ground. Assuming a constant value of 1.29 kg/m3 for the density of air, determine the height of the building. Okay I understand to find the h I use the formula h=patm/densityxg, and P2-Patm=pgh yet I am confused...
  30. H

    HELP - force of wind/torque on a building

    :eek: how do you even start with this problem: A 50 story building is being planned. It is to be 200 m high with a base 40 m by 70 m. Its total mass will be about 1.8 107 kg and its weight therefore about 1.8 108 N. Suppose a 200 km/h wind exerts a force of 840 N/m2 over the 70 m wide face...
  31. L

    At which part of the height of the building the balls collided?

    Help Needed Asap! Please! Hi! I need to solve the following problem before tomorrow.. otherwise I'll be in big trouble. :uhh: I've already discussed it with classmates, but they also don't know how to handle it. Please help me! Ok this is the question: A ball A is thrown off a building...
  32. P

    16-Year-Old Seeks Help Building a Coil Gun

    Hey! Im 16 and love physics, but I am starting to get board with the regular school course and want to start a little project of my own, i thaught a coil gun would be a good start:biggrin: . Any way, I've looked on google on how to make one but all the instructions suck so i was wondering if...
  33. Q

    Measuring the height of a building

    I'm suppossed to measure the height of a building tomorrow but I'm not exactly sure of how to do it accurately. Would using 'similar triangles' work? I would measure the length of the tower's shadow and my shadow. Using my height and shadow length, I could calculate the angle and use that...
  34. E

    Building an RPG: Navigating Physics with Dr. Charington

    ok, I am in grade 10, i haven't even started physics class yet, i am working up the courage to go to a very good science teacher dr. charington but i am afraid of his reaction when he hears i am building an RPG, the CO2 cartridge full of black powder placed inside the rocket will add a...
  35. Moonbear

    Way to deter crickets away from a building?

    I was going to post this in biology, but then changed my mind and decided that I probably should post this in GD since the solution to this might not be a biological one, but might be something physical/chemical/technological. This is probably futile anyway, but does anyone know of a way to...
  36. G

    Taller or shorter than the Empire State Building?

    I received this problem in 8th grade goemetry today, and its due tomorrow. i have looked at it for 2 hrs now and STILL can't think of how to figure it out. help PLEASE? Here it is: If you filled a closet with stacks of quarters from floor to ceilling and then put all the quarters in one big...
  37. z-component

    Building a Tesla Coil for My High School Graduation Project

    My school district requires that each high school senior complete what's called a "Graduation Project," in which the student makes a project of their choice that relates to their academics. There's no specific requirements about the actual project, just the completion of different components...
  38. A

    Solving the Falling Man Problem: Calculating Building Height

    How would i go about solving this? A man falls off a building with height D. He travels 1/4D in the last 1 second of fall. How high is the building?
  39. E

    Weight at different elevations in a tall building

    I have done most of the work on the problem written below, but the more I look at it, the more I am not sure whether I should leave the pounds as they are instead of converting them to kilograms. If I leave it as 200 lbs, are the number plug-ins going to be wrong? I am using the formula g...
  40. F

    Is There an Online Guide to Building a Trebuchet with Popsicle Sticks?

    Hello, I am new, so sorry if this is in the wrong thread, if it is please move it. But anyways, I was wondering if there is a place online which explains how to build a trebuchet (preferably with Popsicle sticks)? Thank You
  41. T

    Building Sun Resistance for a Bald Head

    okay I know my the top of my head hasnt been exposed to much sun so it will burn easily since I shaved it BUT isn't it good that it gets SOME exposure to sun so that it will build resistance to it? Thanks
  42. T

    Building Test Rig: Simulate 10-20Kg Weight on Product

    I need to simulate a test weight of between 10 and 20 Kg on top of a product. I am planning to do this by compression, via a steel plate directly attached to the arm of a pneumatic cylinder. The product, (and steel plate), dimensions are 5 1/2" x 1 5/8", (or 14cm x 4.1cm for you youngsters!). Am...
  43. N

    WTC Metal Fatigue. How Did Building 7 Fall?

    Building 7 was hit by no aircraft or debris. It had several small fires and amazingly collapsed in symmetrical fashion at free fall speeds. We saw in Madrid a building burn at intense levels for MANY hours but not collapse. Is there any scientific explanation for such a catastrophic...
  44. S

    Building a Small Jet Engine: Experiences & Parts

    Has anyone here ever built a small Jet engine? Just generally interested in how you did it and from what parts thanks
  45. D

    The building of a proton accelerator

    Through random chance, I decided one day that I would build a proton accelerator. I understand the concepts of the physics that are involved well enough, but the actual construction is a bit of a mystery. There is a surprising number of rescources on the construction, but they mostly involve...
  46. K

    Building a battery operated railgun

    can it be done? I am not engineer or anything and i was just wondering if it would be possible to build a railgun using batteries as the power source. my idea is to have around 25 electromagnets on two rails with an aluminum tube in the middle which houses the projectile. then each...
  47. E

    What is the trajectory of a ball thrown from a building?

    Hello! I've been working on this problem for a while and our book doesn't have a solutions manual. It has 4 parts to it and I've solved 2 already, (I think) and the last 2 are just getting to me. -A ball is thrown from the top of a building and is given an initial velocity of 30 m.s...
  48. R

    Building a Battery Charger with Car Alternator

    hi i wish to build a battery charger using a 3/4hp240voltac motor driving a 55amp car alternator will this work has anyone done this before and will my caravan batteries be oka i have a gen set to drive the electric motor all these questions i hope to be reveled rolly
  49. B

    Stargazing Building a telescope mount and have some questions

    Hello everyone. I'm finishing up my diploma in Computer Engineering Technology, and it is time to start thinking of final projects. Basically we have to build something that incorporates a microcontroller and we can do pretty much anything we want. I have decided to build an equatorial...
  50. S

    Building a noise detecting circuit

    Hey, I never used to like electronics, but after doing a unit last semester it has really interested me. I've gone out and bought simple circuit components and have built a whole heap of simple circuits just because I wanted to learn more of how things behave. Anyway I still have the notes...
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