People look like tiny ants, cars resemble colorful beetles, and skyscrapers don’t
seem much taller than trees; and no, you’re not looking down from the window of a plane!
That's the view you can enjoy from the tallest skyscraper in the world, Burj Khalifa, in
the United Arab Emirates.
But what if we built one even taller than that?
What if we built... a billion-floor-skyscraper?
Well, on one hand, such a structure would probably solve one of the most acute problems
of humanity!
And by that, I mean overpopulation.
Just within the past two hundred years, the number of people living on Earth has doubled
several times and has almost reached the shocking figure of 7.7 billion!
You may ask, "How can a mere building, even one so high, solve this issue?"
Let's see.
There is an estimate that ten people of average build and height can comfortably stand on
a 10-square-ft area.
It means that 26 million people, which is approximately the population of Scandinavia,
can fit into 1 square mile.
As for the whole Earth's population, it just needs a square that's about 17 miles on each
side, which is an area similar in size to New York City.
But I bet you would be pretty indignant after being squeezed into such a small space and
also having to share it with others.
According to UNESCO, each person needs to have at least 322 square feet of personal
space to feel comfortable.
Even so, a 1-billion-floor skyscraper would provide everyone with enough space and more.
It would be a world of its own, with cinemas and restaurants, stadiums and artificial lakes,
entertainment parks and busy shopping streets!
Just how cool is that?
On the other hand, I can't even imagine such a mind-blowing construction, and I bet it
wouldn't be a piece of cake to build a skyscraper with one billion floors!
And you know what?
I'm actually right about this.
See for yourself!
- First of all, such a skyscraper would be so heavy that its bottom part wouldn't be
able to withstand the pressure and would collapse, bringing the whole construction down.
However, if some super strong revolutionary materials appeared in the next several decades,
there would be a chance that the building could stand straight.
But unfortunately, that's only one of a whole bunch of problems.
- The next issue would be winds that reach very high speeds at a height of 6 miles.
In fact, most atmospheric jet streams move at a constant speed of more than 57 miles
per hour.
Can you imagine what would happen to a skyscraper repeatedly hit by such winds?
- Another huge problem would be elevators, because surely you wouldn't want to use stairs
to climb to your apartment situated on the 1,235,677th floor?
First of all, it would be next to impossible to build such long distance elevators, considering
all the materials needed.
Then, even if these elevators were lightning fast, it would still take ages (and I mean
it) to get to the top floors.
Besides, if the whole population of our planet lived in a 1-billion-floor skyscraper, can
you imagine how many elevators we would need to avoid gigantic lines while waiting for
our ride to come?
There would have to be so many elevators in the building that there wouldn't be any room
left for anything else!
- But now, let's check if you do realize how tall a billion-floor skyscraper would be!
A regular modern skyscraper has, let's say, about 100 floors.
Now, we put 100 skyscrapers on top of each other.
Voila, we have a mega-skyscraper with 10,000 floors, and it's already halfway to space!
It's way taller than the tallest mountains, and airplanes fly somewhere near the bottom
of the construction.
But we can’t stop there!
Let's stack 100 mega-skyscrapers on top of each other!
Wow, now we have a 1,000,000-floor construction!
Unfortunately, this has brought along additional problems.
First of all, spacecraft have started to crash into our super-mega-building.
Watch out!
Phew, the International Space station has barely avoided the collision.
Plus, don't forget about space junk which has been accumulating since people started
to explore space.
Broken satellite pieces, damaged spaceships, and other space trash can seriously damage
our skyscraper.
And let's not forget that so far, we've constructed only a 1-million-floor building.
As soon as we place one hundred super-mega-skyscrapers on top of each other, the 100-million-floor
construction almost brushes against the Moon.
And still, that’s just 100,000,000 floors!
To create a 1-billion-floor skyscraper, we need to put 10 of those on top of each other.
Then we get the incredible construction that would defy numerous physical laws.
It ignores the pull of the Earth's gravity, somehow avoids crashing into the Moon, and
even doesn't fall over, smashing the planet in the process.
Well, I guess you get what I mean: the 1-billion-floor skyscraper is impossible to build.
At least, in the Universe where we live.
So sad, so sad...
But let's talk about two supertall projects which don't sound like a sci-fi movie: one
that already exists and the other that's nearing completion.
As you know, the incredible Burj Khalifa in Dubai, is the tallest building in the world.
Constructed from reinforced concrete, steel, and aluminum, this skyscraper dwarfs all other
constructions in the area.
The height of the building is a staggering 2,717 ft, which is two times taller than the
Empire State Building, and almost three times taller than the Eiffel Tower.
There are 163 floors inside, including 9 for maintenance needs.
And to get to the top of the skyscraper, you can use one of its 57 elevators.
So now, how about some cool facts about this giant?
- The skyscraper holds quite a number of records: the tallest free-standing structure in the
world; the highest occupied floor in the world, the world's highest number of floors; the
highest outdoor observation deck; and even the world's longest distance traveled by an
elevator!
- The weight of the concrete used to build Burj Khalifa is equal to the weight of 100,000
elephants, and the total weight of the aluminum needed for the construction - to five A380
airplanes!
Isn't it mind-blowing?
- Also, the skyscraper has the longest single running elevator in the world which goes a
whopping 140 floors up!
Besides, the elevators in the building are among the fastest in the world: you can reach
the 124th floor with the observation deck within one minute!
But don't forget to make your ears pop afterward.
Burj Khalifa is a really marvelous and breathtaking construction.
But very soon, this skyscraper will be left behind in the cutthroat race to construct
the world's tallest building.
Rising from the desert of Saudi Arabia is Jeddah Tower.
When finished, it will be a magnificent 3,281-feet-tall construction with an observatory on the 157th
floor!
I bet you've never climbed that high, right?
The original plan was to construct a mile-high skyscraper but, unfortunately, the area's
geology put an end to this ambitious idea.
The Tower is supposed to be both a commercial and residential building.
According to the plan, it's going to house numerous hotels, offices, tourist attractions,
and homes for ordinary people.
Well, when I say "ordinary," I mean ordinary people with tons of money.
The skyscraper's going to have the world's highest observation deck with a huge outdoor
platform at the height of 2,178 ft.
To reach the observation area, you'll have to use a double-decker elevator that will
travel at a speed of about 30 ft per second.
In other words, it will take you a bit more than a minute to get to the 157th floor!
Well, hopefully, they will finish the construction in time!
I can't wait to conquer the next highest skyscraper in the world!
What's the tallest building you've ever visited?
Share your experience in the comment section below!
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