Thursday, August 28, 2014

How The Ancient Egyptians (Should Have) Built The Pyramids

The Physics arXiv Blog writes How The Ancient Egyptians (Should Have) Built The Pyramids.

"Today, Joseph West at Indiana State University and a couple of pals suggest an alternative method for moving giant stone blocks. Their approach considerably reduces the ground pressure but at the same time allows the blocks to be moved with significantly less effort than dragging. They have even tested the idea to measure the amount of force workers would have had to use to move the blocks. Their idea is remarkably simple. They strap wooden rods to a block, turning its profile from a square into a dodecagon, which can then be moved more easily by rolling."

Bonus points if that quote reminded you of Lisa Simpson.

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