A fairly typical concrete mix will support around 4,000 psi, with micro fiber reinforcement and admix chemicals different mixes can achieve far higher strengths, allowing them to do the job, using far less space. Some of the concrete for example in the WTC freedom tower is rated @ 60,000 psi...
Think about electricity as marbles in a tube- you push on the marble on one end, and almost instantly the marble on the other end moves. You could put a match box on the end of the tube and you can still easily push the marble- but it is a little harder to do, but that is work performed.
It is...
Remember that the energy levels per photon are vastly different at different colors, the red might shoot twice as many photons as green but they hit half as hard- and as such may not be enough to have the desired effect of
Many solid state visible light lasers start as infra red, but...
You may also like to consider running a support in accompany with the wire, depending on the wire length and size some simple stainless steel safety wire may suffice (snap it by bending with two pliers, do not cut it, it will ruin your tools (unless you have very expensive cutters designed for...
For the walls, you may want to try to make a silicone lining- it should be easy to get off if it is thick enough (silicone cures to around 300psi tensile strength) and it is hydrophobic and non porous.
The base, well honestly my best guess for a cheap substrate that is highly porous would be...
Iron nails are very use full but an excellent alternative is notching connecting points and/or boring holes for wooden pegs. The downside is they are labor intensive, but they most certainly can be used for construction of a large crane. I am sure many techniques have evolved into woodworking...