Back to topics

Why can't a skyscraper simply add another hundred floors?

A skyscraper is more than a stack of floors: it also behaves like a giant beam rooted in the ground. Adding height changes how weight and wind travel through the structure, so the rest of the building cannot simply remain the same.

5–7 min

Questions you could explore

  • Why might a wider stance help a tall building as well as a person resisting a shove?

Start reading

Ready to try your ideas aloud?

Your topic carries over. Record up to 2½ minutes, depending on your plan.

Cities and transport

What happens to water before it reaches the tap?

Clear-looking water and drinking water are not necessarily the same thing. In Uisce Éireann's representative surface-water process, clarification, filtration, and disinfection deal with different parts of the treatment problem.

4–5 min
Cities and transport

What do the two parts of an Eircode tell you?

Ireland's seven-character address code combines a routing key with a unique identifier. The operator's public example, A65 F4E2, shows how a shared first part and an individual second part do different jobs.

2–3 min
Cities and transport

How does a canal lock lift a boat without lifting machinery?

A boat inside a lock rises when the water around it rises. By filling or emptying the enclosed chamber, a conventional lock brings the boat to the level of the next stretch of canal. The gates contain the water; they do not hoist the boat.

3–5 min
Why can't a skyscraper simply add another hundred floors? | Speech Topic | speaking.app