Destroying Stuff for Science, part 5: The ground beneath your feet
Channel: Maggie Koerth
Date: 11/05/2012

In January, I took a tour of the The Constructed Facilities Laboratory at North Carolina State University. This is where engineers take the materials and structures that build our world and put them to the test--pushing pillars, concrete slabs, pipes, and more to the breaking point. Besides testing materials, the lab also has a geotechnical side, where researchers can replicate the soil a building sits on or figure out the best way to extract pollution from the ground.