4 ms·
I think the obvious answer is to consider that the ones financing this are already billionaires so all they really need to do is to spend some of that coin on a
by doodlebugging 3y ago
I think the obvious answer is to consider that the ones financing this are already billionaires so all they really need to do is to spend some of that coin on a ballistic glass exterior skin that would function as a prophylactic, protecting the tower from anything swirling around in the Oklahoma City sky. The damage to the high-rise towers in the Fort Worth tornado was largely due to glass shattering causing the interiors to be open to the winds. This one practical step could be at least 87% effective against intrusion of debris from outside the protective skin and maybe up to 98% effective against dispersal of contents inside the ballistic glass prophylactic skin. That will solve the problem of lost documents, furnishings, etc that existed after the Bank One Tower in Fort Worth was hit by a tornado.
They could even, for the science, use the central spire as a high altitude mount point for a radome so that they can issue weather forecasts and alerts well before the storms arrive. A nice, round white sphere on top of that spike would really dress it up in a way that is immediately useful to people all over the region.
To take that a step further they can even use the central spire as a sensor launch point so that they can refine existing severe weather models. All they need to do is to use the central spire as a sort of skewer, grease it up with a durable, environmentally friendly lubricant, and set up a string of rounded sensor packages, like a string of pearls, that are lightly tethered so that when the inevitable tornadic winds pass nearby the updraft pulls those sensors off in a steady stream and carries them on the wind across the landscape. The tether should be light enough that the turbulent flow of the winds severs the tethers allowing them to maximize their dispersal.
To aid in recovery of the data just color those sensor packages pearlescent white with a distinctive logo and make them large enough to be easily spotted once they come to rest on the ground and offer a reward to any Okie or anyone else downwind who returns one or reports finding one and you can get some useful science data about debris transport under severe weather conditions. You could even model the central opening to function as a whistle as they disperse so that they can be tracked as they travel on the winds. Years ago when the tornado hit Wichita Falls there was a guitar shop that had a large guitar on a pole outside. That guitar was found hundreds of miles away in Broken Bow, Oklahoma I think.
As a Texan I think we should all support this, for the science.