伟大工程巡礼:北京水立方
数千年来,中国屡屡打造出世上最伟大的建筑里程碑,借此宣示其伟大及国力。到了21世纪,中国更以霹雳之姿跻身于世界强国之列。并再次以钢铁、混凝土、玻璃和石材,向世人宣誓其融入世界的决心和能力。不过在今日的中国,令人惊叹不已的远不止于此。泡沫很常见,但您能够想象用泡沫造一座坚固耐用的房子吗?在中国的首都北京,工人正在打造人类史上一座惊骇世俗的建筑。当北京点燃奥运圣火的那一时刻,世界的眼球都将汇聚在无与伦比的国家游泳中心——一座让钢筋混凝土建筑相形见绌的超级建筑。不过在超级建筑的世界里,人们都叫它水立方。水立方由全球华人资助兴建,代表了他们对中国主办2008年奥运的希望和梦想。建筑设计由澳洲PTW建筑事务所和ARUP的结构工程师,以及中国建筑工程总公司联手设计打造。并由中国民众通过网络投票表决,最终由中国领导阶层拍板定案。水立方的设计融合了多项科技成果,设计理念更是来自于肥皂泡泡——四氟乙烯。四氟乙烯简写为ETFE,化学家称之为含氟聚合物,我们一般人管它叫塑胶。这种材料以其特殊的结构造就了水立方环保、防火、耐震的特质。这座令人叹为观止的蜂巢,耗费长达90公里的钢材,两万两千根钢梁,完全违背了传统的直线设计。错综复杂的金属构架,这些钢材足以绕过奥运跑道200多圈。外覆10万平方米的塑胶膜,足以覆盖14座原尺寸的橄榄球场。切割成直径9米的气枕,但厚度只有0.2毫米,比一分钱的镍币薄了近8倍。这一切无一例外的使其成为21世纪中国建筑的杰作...
大裂谷:美丽的非洲心脏
【内容简介】   东非大裂谷自红海至赞比西河口,连绵三千里,从太空都能看到。这里是多姿多彩的地方,有喷发的火山、覆盖着森林的高山、美丽的峡谷、广袤的草原、巨大的平湖和河流,是鳄鱼、河马、狮子、大象、火烈鸟和非洲人的家园。BBC采用最新的高清摄影技术,探讨了形式东非大裂谷的地质力量,展现世界上野生动物品种最多的地貌。   Visible from space, Africa's Great Rift Valley runs three thousand miles from the Red Sea to the mouth of the Zambezi. It's a diverse terrain of erupting volcanoes, forest-clad mountains, spectacular valleys, rolling grasslands, huge lakes and mighty rivers, and is home to crocodiles, hippos, lions, elephants, flocks of flamingos and a diversity of indigenous peoples.   Using state-of-the-art high definition filming techniques, this series investigates the geological forces which shaped East Africa's Great Rift, and which make it one of the world's most wildlife-rich landscapes.   Part 1: Fire   The valley is the product of deep-seated geological forces which have spewed out a line of cloud-wreathed volcanoes stretching from Ethiopia to Tanzania. Their peaks provide a refuge for East Africa's most extraordinary wildlife, including newly discovered and previously unfilmed species which have evolved surprising survival strategies to cope with their challenging mountain environment.   Part 2: Water   The Great Rift Valley channels a huge diversity of waterways - rivers, lakes, waterfalls, caustic springs and coral seas - spanning from Egypt to Mozambique. Some lake and ocean deeps harbour previously unseen life-forms, while caustic waters challenge life to the extreme. But where volcanic minerals enrich the Great Rift's waterways, they provide the most spectacular concentrations of birds, mammals and fish in all Africa.   Part 3: Grass   The Great Rift Valley provides the stage for an epic battle between trees and grass - its course influenced by volcanic eruptions, landscape and rainfall. On its outcome rests the fate of Africa's great game herds. In the Rift's savannas, grazers and their predators struggle to outwit each other, forcing one group of primates to develop a social system that paved the way for the evolution of mankind.
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