Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'

h a l f b a k e r y
Bone to the bad.

idea: add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, best, random

meta: news, help, about, links, report a problem

account: Browse anonymously, or get an account and write.

User:
Pass:
Login
Create account.


                                                     

Giant Inverted Pyramid
Surely we can do better that the Egyptians did 6000 years ago....
 
(+6, -6)
  [vote for,
against]


The pyramdids are an impressive sight, but 6000 years have past. We have much much better technology today. Surely we can make something even more impressive.

Using mobile weights, giant gyros, and other mechanical contriviances, we can built a giant inverted pyramid.

Made of tough yet light material, it resist corrosion, and won't tip over, unless power is removed. Even then, large banks of batteries buried in the ground beneath continue to power it for a while. Power is drawn in through the point touching the ground.

Spinning slowly, balancing on it's nose, if properly taken care of, this Giant Inverted Pyramid would last, and hopefully awe our descendants for millenia.


DesertFox, May 12 2005

Louvre http://www.diff.net...re_pyramid.orig.jpg
Ok, not quite what you were looking for. [Worldgineer, May 12 2005]

Gyro Achitecture Gyro_20Achitecture
similar [xaviergisz, May 12 2005]

The Timecube Theory HTTP://www.timecube.com
WARNING: THIS IS FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE! [wagster, May 13 2005]

Harvard Magazine Article on Pyramid Construction http://www.harvard-...on-line/070391.html
[DrBob, Nov 08 2006]

[link]






       //Made of tough yet light material, it resist corrosion, and won't tip over, unless power is removed.//   

       Nah, that's a huge liability. I just see all the tech dependence as messy, far from the ideals behind the perfect forms that the pyramids were meant to glorify.   

       Now, if this inverted pyramid was completely self sufficient, a beackon to the new age of fully autonomous technology, then that would be something.   

       Or, if we just built a pyramid out of nanotubes that extended into space, that would be something,too.   

       Not that your Giant Pyramid wouldn't be something, it just wouldn't communicate form like I think it should. It would be big and cool, but nothing benchmark.

daseva, May 12 2005
  

       How about a building that *looks* like a giant inverted pyramid, but that actually has an invisible force field sphere circumscribed around it so it is in fact spherical. THAT ought to impress those snobs from the 60th century.

phundug, May 12 2005
  

       A pyramid size and shaped hole in the ground surfaced with stone would be impressive.

FarmerJohn, May 12 2005
  

       was it you, DF who suggested this some weeks back?

po, May 12 2005
  

       When in awe of the pyramids don't we all think of the slave aspect, the suffering and the waste of manpower? Let us awe the future by being practical and creating a future of equity.
Wasn't it more like 3000-4000 years ago?

jscottpete, May 12 2005
  

       The technology would ruin it but I'm bunning the idea of building an inverted pyramid, preferably in Giza. The point would have to be mighty strong though and the foundation massive.

wagster, May 12 2005
  

       I asked on the last mummification of this idea, how deep it would have to be in the sand so that it did not tip over.

po, May 12 2005
  

       oh, please don't confuse me with maths...

po, May 12 2005
  

       Build it around a 10m diameter steel pole that's set in concrete foundations even more massive than the pyramid. Then it can practically all be exposed.   

       Anyone got a few hundred thousand slaves they could lend me?

wagster, May 12 2005
  

       I gotta few hundred thousand Roombas!   

       Okay, I don't, but if I did...

daseva, May 12 2005
  

       union square = two inverted pyramids and by inverted i mean upside down and by two i mean a cube.

SpocksEyebrow, May 12 2005
  

       But, then one is right side up, right?

daseva, May 12 2005
  

       The government will not reveal the Timecube discovery to the public. It is forbidden knowledge.

wagster, May 12 2005
  

       THE government. Good job [wagster] revealing two secrets at once. sheesh.

SpocksEyebrow, May 12 2005
  

       What about an ordinary pyramid, only make it lean over a bit.

Ian Tindale, May 12 2005
  

       [jscottpete], the pyramids were not made by slaves but by paid workers. It was huge industry, run in a very modern way. There were no whips or brutality involved.

zeno, May 14 2005
  

       And this is a great idea!

zeno, May 14 2005
  

       Consider the following- An inverted pyramid structure that has a bank of elevators at the base. The only way to enter the building is by getting on the elevator and ascending to the level that you are going to. The executives at the higher floors get bigger office spaces with a really spectacular view while the subordinate workers have to be stuffed in the smaller spaces below.

Jscotty, Nov 08 2006
  

       Thanks for pulling this one up, JScotty. An interesting concept. I think a modern pyramid should meet these requirements:
- be able to withstand the ages
- convey our advanced understanding of the universe
- be of a beautiful simplicity
- visible from afar.
  

       I wonder if we are capable today of making pyramids superior to the ancient ones. Perhaps just bigger ones, made with machines. Without the religious motivation, it probably would be a waste of money.

jmvw, Nov 08 2006
  

       //I wonder if we are capable today of making pyramids superior to the ancient ones.//   

       Most would think that this would be the case, however, with all of our modern tools, equipment and ingenuity, we are still discovering that the egyptians knew many things that we still don't. Scientists are still unsure how they were able to build the pyramids with such precision and without the use of adhesives to hold the blocks together. I vaguely remember a story on the news about the replica of a pyramid at the MGM Grand hotel in Vegas collapsing during construction.

Jscotty, Nov 08 2006
  

       //When in awe of the pyramids don't we all think of the slave aspect, the suffering and the waste of manpower?//

Just to echo zeno's anno. The pyramids weren't built by slaves but by, what we could call, a professional class of construction workers. See link.

DrBob, Nov 08 2006
  
      
[annotate]
  


 
back: main index
 business 
 computer 
 culture 
 fashion 
 food 
 halfbakery 
 home 
 other 
 product 
 public 
 science 
 sport 
 vehicle