A dome is a curved roof which encloses a circular space. A dome must support its own dead load as well as the live load of wind, rain, snow, or ice. Because loads are spread over many triangles, these domes are especially strong. The geodesic dome s design distributes loads over all of the different triangles. A skyscraper is a very tall building, generally greater than 40 or 50 stories.
Many forces are at work on tall buildings, or skyscrapers.
Gravity and the dead load of the tower push down, the ground pushes back up, and small air movements push from the side. The foundation distributes the load into the surrounding ground material and can help balance the sideways wind force. The size of the foundation depends on the strength of the supporting ground. A foundation placed in rock can be smaller than a foundation placed in sand or mud, for example. A dam is a barrier built across a stream or river to stop or check the flow of water.