Thursday, August 13, 2009

8 Amazing Bridges of the World

1. The Magdeburg Water Bridge : 918 m long, 34 m wide and 4.25 m

At first glance, the Water Bridge in Magdeburg, Germany, seems nothing special; just another canal bridge. But look again and it’s a water bridge across water, forming a water intersection that is the biggest water crossing in Europe! The world’s largest water bridge, with a span of 106 m between its pillars, opened in October 2003, on the back of five years of construction, 24,000 tons of steel, and 68,000 m³ of reinforced concrete. Regaining the construction cost of €500 million probably won’t take long as the bridge shortens travel times for ships considerably and eases traffic on other routes. Before the opening of the water bridge, ships moving between the Midland Canal and the Elbe-Havel Canal had to make a 12-km detour through the Rothensee lock, along the River Elbe and back up Niegripp lock. Now the bridge connects Hannover and Berlin directly and also Berlin’s inland harbour network with the ports along the Rhine. A double lock was constructed to descend to the Elbe-Havel Canal and a single Rothensee lock was constructed at the other end of the water bridge to descend to the Elbe and the Magdeburg harbour, making it independent of water levels and therefore navigable even for large ships.

2. The Millau Viaduct in France : 2,460 m long, 32 m wide and 343 m high at the highest point


The Millau Viaduct in France is the world’s tallest vehicular bridge. In 2004, after 17 years of planning and work, it was finally completed and formed the missing link in the A75, connecting Paris and Perpignan. Cost: Euro 400 million, but that should be recovered fast at a cost of €3.09 for bicycles, €5.50 for cars and €27.50 for trucks (off season). However, according to the web site, the route saves more than one hour when travelling from Paris and almost €50 in tolls. The state-of-the art construction required 85,000 m3 of concrete and used the latest techniques like laser, GPS, sliders, self-climbing formwork, specific surface coats and high performance concrete.

3) The Oresundbridge from Denmark to Sweden : with the Danish islands Saltholm on the left and Peberholm on the right; on the horizon is Malmö

The Oresundbridge (official name: Øresundsförbindelsen) connecting Copenhagen in Denmark and Malmö in Sweden leaves one puzzled, as suddenly a 4-line highway and a 2-track railway seem to disappear into the sea. Is it a bridge? Is it a tunnel? It’s both, making it, what, maybe a brunnel or a tridge? In any case, it’s definitely the longest combined road-and-rail bridge in Europe. Plans for a bridge at this location had been in the works for the last hundred years but it was finally opened in July 2000, bringing Swedes and Danes closer together and increasing tourism. The bridge is 8 km long, plus there’s 4 km of tunnel and another 4 km of the man-made island Peberholm; altogether a stunning, 16-km-drive.
Here’s another stunning view of the Oresundbridge that makes it look like a ski ramp


4) The Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam is 808 m long, cost €75 million to construct and was opened in September 1996


The Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam does not need to hide behind the Oresundbridge as it can boast a record of its own: its southern part is the largest and heaviest bascule bridge in Western Europe and has the largest panel of its type in the world, allowing tall ships to pass. The bridge is nicknamed “The Swan” because of its 139 m high asymmetrical pylon that overlooks the city like the graceful neck of a swan.

5) The Jadukata Bridge, the longest span cantilever bridge in India with a central span of 140 m, stretches so naturally from one shore to the other that it seems to grow out of the rich vegetation itself

Leaving Europe to move further east, we come to the Indian Jadukata Bridge in Ranikor in the West Khasi Hills District of Meghalaya, 130 km from its capital, Shillong. This bridge over the Jadukata river is close to the Indo-Bangladesh border and therefore a vital link on an important road in this border state. Even cost wise, compared to the other bridges featured here, it is a lightweight at €1.5 million.

6) The Sutong Bridge in China is a cable-stayed bridge with the world’s longest main span (1,088 m); its overall length is 8,206 m and the two bridge towers are the world’s second tallest at 306 m

Moving further east, here’s the Sutong Bridge that spans the Yangtze River and connects Sutong (Suzhou) and Nantong in China. It shortens the commute from Shanghai to Nantong, making ferry service superfluous and heightening Nantong’s importance as part of the Yangtze River Delta economic zone. The opening of the bridge in May 2008 has brought foreign investments to the city and spurned the development of poorer northern Jiangsu regions. No wonder, with a status project that cost €1.3 billion.

7) The Akashi Bridge in Japan is the world’s longest suspension bridge with a total length of 3,911 m and contains a 6-lane highway

Moving yet further east, we reach the Akashi Bridge (also Akashi-Kaikyo or Pearl Bridge) in Kobe, Japan. With a centre span of 1,991 m, it is the world’s longest suspension bridge and links Kobe with the mainland of Honshu. Since the bridge’s opening in 1998, crossing the Akashi Strait has become much safer as the bridge has been built to withstand strong winds, sea currents and earthquakes. Before then, passengers used to rely on ferries that were prone to accidents due to severe storms in the region.

8) Sundial Bridge in Redding, California is a pedestrian bridge, 213 m long and 7 m wide; it is stretched precisely from south to north, making the bridge a functioning sundial

Last but not least, moving yet further east around the globe, we reach a humble walking bridge in Redding, California. The stylish Sundial Bridge across the Sacramento River is a glass-bottom bridge that connects a network of walking and biking trails. The requirement before planning the bridge was that it could not cast too much shadow over the river as Turtle Bay happens to be one of the best salmon spawning places in California. Therefore, the design is light and airy. Opened in July 2004, the bridge’s construction cost €17.4 million.




For all those inspired by these beautiful bridges around the world, there is good news: most of the bridges portrayed have their own web sites (brochures are so 20th century) with lots more information and virtual tours.

The Best Movie Make-Ups Ever.. Amazing

"There's nothing in his pockets except knives and lint." Heath Ledger has stunned the world with his performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight. The late actor deserves every plaudit coming his way. But there also has to be some credit for the people that made him look the part: the make-up people.
In celebration of The Joker's multi-coloured mug, we've decided to bring together the best of this far too often forgotten section of the movie industry. Meet the finest make-up jobs ever to cross our screens.






World's longest Keyboard ........ Amazing

Key Board :
The world's Longest Key Board has also been invented see that amazing keypad pictures below.

Jean Shin who design this interactive sculpture simply gave the name TEXTile. As the name suggest it's as smooth as the clothe made in Textile Mill.
This amazing invention (world’s longest keypad) is placed at The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia.

The design includes more than 22,528 computers and 192 custom keycap which are attached with fabric, a custom keyboard and software assets as well as interactive video projection and painted aluminum frames. It sets out line by line transcript of the electronic communication that the artist and manufacturing in creating enabling it to sculpture in its own archives!

The first three ranks of the civil e-mails key assets that allow visitors to type in their own messages that are projected onto the opposite end of the fabric.

The sculpture was created as a comment on the extent of the impact that e-mail and other virtual communication has had on our lives I suppose if a banner saying "e-mail is a good thing" would have made the too!

The World’s Biggest and Most Expensive Hotel Beirut Lebanon




Do You know it??? Something new 4 you




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Small Space But Royal Look !!!!!

A girl with two head.. Strange but Amazing

Abigail Loraine Hensel and Brittany Lee Hensel were born on 7 March 1990, Carver County, Minnesota, United States and they are dicephalic conjoined twins. Brittany is the left twin, and Abigail is the right twin. They have two spines which join at the pelvis. They have two stomachs, three lungs, and two arms. (A third, underdeveloped and useless arm between their heads was removed in infancy.)
Most of Abigail and Brittany's shared organs lie below the waist line. The deatil is presented below:
2 heads
2 arms -- originally 3, but the short malformed central arm was removed
2 spinal cords and backbones which merge at the pelvis - surgery corrected scoliosis 3½ lungs -- surgery expanded their chest cavity
2 breasts
2 hearts in a shared circulatory system -- medicine taken by either affects both
1 liver
2 stomachs
3 kidneys
2 gallbladders
1 bladder 1 ribcage
1 large intestine
1 female reproductive system.