Engineers hoping to connect continents across the Bering Strait also have to figure out how to accommodate the different rail track widths used in North America and Russia.
Fire control is crucial to tunnel design. A fire can heat a tunnel to as much as 1500 degrees Fahernheit, hot enough to burn up all the oxygen in minutes.
Workers can move around on ordinary construction sites with scaffolding, but the giant dome over Houston would require workers to operate overhead, helped by a new type of airship.
If a 21-million-square-foot dome over Houston were made of glass, it would collapse under its own weight. One alternative is the ultra-light ploymer ETFE.
Prior to Hurricane Katrina, levees were the only line of defense the residents of New Orleans had against flooding. Now, builders are looking to create the largest surge barrier in the world, changing the way New Orleans fights hurricanes.
Since it's founding, New Orleans has worked against the elements. Now, times are changing and the city is looking to work with nature instead. Can an answer to flooding be found in a new concrete material?