Description

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Earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis don’t happen every day, so how can budding scientists study how they work? Through experiments, models, and demonstrations. This in-depth resource will teach readers how to build a seismograph to record a simulated earthquake, compare pressure waves and shear waves—the two types of ground shocks—using a Slinky, and replicate a tsunami’s destructive effect on a “coastline” built in a bathtub. Authors Matthys Levy and Mario Salvadori even discuss issues of modern architecture and civil engineering: how science can be used to protect buildings and property in earthquake-prone areas.             Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Tsunamis answers a wide array of questions about these phenomena. Can animals “predict” earthquakes? How have various cultures explained the movement of the earth throughout history? What is the Richter scale, and what does it tell us about the strength of a quake? And most important, readers will learn how to earthquake-proof their homes, and how to protect themselves should they experience a tremor.

About the Author

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Matthys Levy is a civil engineer and the inventor of the Tensar Dome, which is used to cover athletic venues around the world. He is the coauthor of Engineering the City and Why the Wind Blows. Mario Salvadori was a professor of architecture and the founder of the Salvadori Center, a nonprofit educational center to teach inner-city youth about math and science through hands-on study of structure and architecture. He is the author of The Art of Construction and Why Buildings Stand Up. They are the coauthors of Why Buildings Fall Down.