What is Building: Definition and 918 Discussions

A building, or edifice, is a structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, and have been adapted throughout history for a wide number of factors, from building materials available, to weather conditions, land prices, ground conditions, specific uses, and aesthetic reasons. To better understand the term building compare the list of nonbuilding structures.
Buildings serve several societal needs – primarily as shelter from weather, security, living space, privacy, to store belongings, and to comfortably live and work. A building as a shelter represents a physical division of the human habitat (a place of comfort and safety) and the outside (a place that at times may be harsh and harmful).
Ever since the first cave paintings, buildings have also become objects or canvasses of much artistic expression. In recent years, interest in sustainable planning and building practices has also become an intentional part of the design process of many new buildings and other structures.

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  1. M

    Finding the height of a building

    Homework Statement Spiderman steps from the top of a tall building. He falls freely from rest to the ground a distance of h. He falls a distance of h/4 in the last interval of time of 1.2 s of his fall. What is the height h of the building? The acceleration is constant -g. Homework...
  2. C

    Computer Building a Linux box getting started

    OK, so I decided to put together a computer, but I'm having some trouble. Hopefully it's of the "you forgot something obvious" variety, rather than "it's broken". The thread is titled as it is because I imagine that if I fix this problem, others will come up I'll also need help with. So I...
  3. M

    Building a Frequency to Voltage Converter

    I found an old circuit diagram online but have never been able to find it again. Here is what I am trying to do: The three-phase DC motor I am working with is a 4-pole motor. Therefore there is a direct relationship between the frequency between the motors phase-leads, and the current RPM of...
  4. B

    Building blocks of the conduction and valence band

    Hi folks, I am new to PF. First I have to apologize for the following english -- it is not my native language. I have problems in understanding the formation of the conduction and valence bands of solids: For example in III-V compound semiconductors both constituents are sp3 hybridized...
  5. A

    Is it Possible to Get Jobs in Bomb and Gun Building with a B.S. in Physics?

    so i just survived my first semester at a real college, (transferred from community college), and got my A@# handed to me. I did however pass everything and learned a ton. I learned what real studying is and that I am probably not cut out for grad school, but we shall see. i am curious if its...
  6. C

    How can I make my Pinewood Derby car more aerodynamic?

    I am building a Pinewood Derby car (Just for fun) and I want to make my car REALY areodynamic, but I don't really know the basics of areodynamics. Please help!
  7. D

    Need help building a Lawrence cyclotron?

    Anyone know how to do it? I do not know where to find dee electromagnets, nor do I even have the complete design of his system.
  8. R

    Building a Cheap Faraday Cage in Bedroom

    1. Suffer extreme symptoms from Microwave RF emissions cell phones, Wi FI, Cordless computers and RF Routers. 2. The next door neighbour has installed a Uniden DECT that transmits continually 24 hours a day. Our bedroom and the next door neighbours loungeroom is separated by a normal...
  9. A

    Building a particle accelerator

    I would like to build a particle accelerator as a science project. I know it may be unrealistic, but depending upon the size and complexity that I choose, it should be possible. If anyone could help with the construction process of a small particle accelerator(preferably circular), I would...
  10. L

    Bringing an Old Robot Radio to Life: Building an AM/FM Receiver

    Hey PF, I want to resurrect an old robot radio I have sitting around. What exactly is involved with building an AM/FM receiver?
  11. A

    Building positive roots from simple roots

    Hi, I've got two related questions. You can decompose a (semisimple) lie algebra into root spaces, each of which are 1-dimensional. If X has root a and Y has root b then [X,Y] has root a+b. If the root space of a+b is not zero (i.e. there is a root a+b) then is it possible for [X,Y] to still...
  12. L

    Building An Infrared Remote To Control Triacs

    Hey there PF! I'm currently working on building an Infrared Remote to control a series of triacs. The objective is to create a "remote control power bar". The original plan was to use push button switches to toggle the Q lead of a 4013, each of which houses two switching circuits. Q and NOT-Q...
  13. A

    How Can You Calculate the Wavelength of a Laser for Building an Electrolaser?

    I'm sorry about posting this here.. it's not homework don't worry :-p But I just feel that there must be a more specific subthread for it than general physics, but nevertheless I suppose a moderator can move it if they are aware of such a subthread? Anyway onto the actual thread: Basically...
  14. M

    Building a pump from scratch, engineering competition

    ***Building a pump from scratch, engineering competition*** Hello everyone. I have been entered into a competition. The spec is to build a pump that can pump 30 litres of water a minuet for 30 minuet to a height of 4 meters. The pump has to be built over 3 days (18hours) but i have...
  15. C

    Group Theory for Unified Model Building

    Hi everyone, I want to ask everybody if someone knows a book, or some lecture notes available on the net, to lear how to decompose the Lie Groups in irreps in physical notation, like 8_v \otimes 8_v=1+28+35 that can be found everywhere on books like BB&S or Polchinski. It is really hard...
  16. B

    Building a lab power supply from a computer

    I found this link and thought it may be of some use to build a power supply. I know that these power supplies can pack around 500W on the right power supplies. Is there anything I should know and be careful of when making this and when playing with smaller electronics...
  17. P

    Building Faraday Flashlight Help

    Homework Statement I need to build a faraday flashlight and I have two problems. Homework Equations (1) When I use a 12V DC motor connected in parallel to a capacitor (16V 2200uf) and then to an LED assembly, I can't get the capacitor to charge. (2) If I wanted to use a magnet and coils...
  18. wolram

    Building a Universe: Is Matter, Energy Purley Information?

    Could a new universe be built with purley information, i do not know how to explain this question any better without corupting it in some way, may be a lesser question is, is matter, energy purley information.
  19. A

    Finding Values for Thrown Stone from 45m Building

    Homework Statement Suppose a stone is thrown from a 45.0 m tall building at an angle 26.0° below the horizontal. If it strikes the ground 30.3 m away, find the following values. (a) time of flight __________s (b) initial speed _________ m/s (c) speed and angle of the velocity vector...
  20. I

    Building a Tank Circuit: Ground Connection Needed

    I'm building a tank circuit and I need to know if a ground connection is needed.
  21. C

    How do I safely build a variable DC power supply for my electronics projects?

    I'm taking an intro electronics class and I'm really enjoying it. I want to be able to work with electronics in my garage, I have a proto-board and but I would like to build a power supply that can go from 1vdc to 15vdc, this is what my class has. I've looked on the net for instructions, but...
  22. A

    Thought Experiment (Jumping of a building)

    1. This was just a quick question that I was thinking about. If you jump of a really tall building, let's say 100-story building and you fall most likely you won't live to tell the tale. But let's say you jumped with a cardboard (or any object) and a couple feet before you hit the ground...
  23. D

    Building an Electronic Inclinometer device

    Allow me to be so bold as to ask,how do you build an Electronic Inclinometer to measure a boat tilting until it reaches a 5 degree angle. When the boat tilts to a 5 degree angle, the inclinometer has to be able to read the 5 degree. The Inclinometer has to be waterproof because it will be...
  24. T

    Building a Countdown Timer with a 555

    Im trying to do just that, that is build a timer that countsdown accurately to the minute. Ideally this device should have a range of about 5 second countdowns to 36 hour countdown. I'd like to add a 7-segment LED display wired to count as well but I am not sure I think i can do that with a 555...
  25. K

    Building a car without a mousetrap i'm desperate

    I am supposed to make a car similar to that of a mousetrap car, except without using a mousetrap. I have basic materials and I am completley dumfounded when it comes to making the car "go." please help me! i am so desperate! i originally thought that using a car to make the car go would be...
  26. T

    Time to Vacuum Fill a Rigid Building

    Assume a rigid building(assume the building to be like a pyramid and its empty inside) to be vacuum. If we open a hole(about r=.5m), then, how long will it take for the air to take up of the whole space apprximately? Will, it's just curiosity because I found a little pump in a class room...
  27. W

    Building a 1KHz Clock Signal Timer using a 555

    I need to build a timer(using a 555) with a frequency of about 1KHz and a duty cycle of about 25% to provide my clock signal. So the 555 is obliviously in astable mode. From my engineering data sheet: D=\frac{R_B}{R_A+2R_B} f=\frac{1.44}{\left(R_A+2R_B\right)C} where C is my capacitance value...
  28. L

    Building Functions from Asymptotes

    Homework Statement Use the given information about the asymptotes of a function to write an equation for a rational function. You may leave your function in "factored" form. Homework Equations 1. Vertical Asymptote at x=3 and x=-2 2. Vertical Asymptote at x=5, Horizontal Asymptote...
  29. M

    Projectile motion- height of building

    Homework Statement Take up as positive. A rock is projected from the edge of the top of a building with an initial velocity of 16.5 m/s at an angle of 40 degrees above the horizontal. The rock strikes the ground a horizontal distance of 82m from the base of the building. The acceleration of...
  30. A

    Building a database management system

    This semester, we have to build a database management system (DBMS) as a mini-project. We do have the database theory course covering database management concepts, sql and pl/sql. The project is to be done using Oracle and possibly Visual Basic for the front end and maybe a programming...
  31. S

    Can You Improve the Time Complexity of Building a Queue with Stacks?

    Hello, I'm tasked with building a queue from as many stacks as I'd like, trying to get the fastest implementation possible. The best I can think of is using two stacks and as you enqueue items you push them on the first stack stack, but every time you want to dequeue if there are n items...
  32. T

    Building a low noise isolated PSU

    Hi there, For a personal project of mine, I have been designing a low-noise linear power supply to provide power to guitar effects pedals. A couple guitarists I know use a hodge-podge of AC adapters and switched PSU's to run their various pedals (sometimes 8 at a time). This mixture of...
  33. M

    Building a Flying Ship: Calculating Necessary Horsepower

    im working on a ship that can fly; simple yes . well having a little trubble tring to found out how mutch HP is needed to lift one pound in the air. I am making the engine my self i can't really give to mutch information at this point in time becouse I am still working on the frame work for...
  34. W

    What Is the Height of the Building If a Ball Lands 35 Meters Away?

    greetings :) so I'm pretty stumped on this one question from masteringphysics: A ball thrown horizontally at 23.7 m/s from the roof of a building lands 35.0 m from the base of the building. How high is the building? i first listed all of my given values ---------------------------...
  35. B

    Velocity to jump building to building

    Homework Statement "In a chase scene, a movie stuntman is supposed to run right off the flat roof of one city building and land on another roof 1.6 m lower." "If the gap between the buildings is 4.5 m wide, how fast must he run? " Homework Equations Vf^2 = V0^2 + 2a (Xf-X0) This...
  36. K

    Faraday Cage Concept and Building Questions

    I have a few questions and verifying statements regarding the concept as well as practical building of Faraday Cages. 1. A Faraday cage's mesh must have a grid with a spacing less than that of the wavelength that is intended to be stopped. 2. Why is it that foil and mylar also work as...
  37. P

    Calculate the height of a building

    Design a method to calculate the height of a building?this is an engineering design question... URGENT! ...i need inputs !
  38. D

    Where Can I Find a Geiger Counter Kit for Building and Shipping to Europe?

    Hi! I`m new here and I need some info where I can find project about building Geiger counter and where I can order the electronical components with shiping to Europe (Macedonia) :confused: Please help me!
  39. A

    Building a rat trap operated car

    hey every1.. at the moment for a school project a group of mates and i are building a rat trap operated car. This is made by obviously a rat trap with about 5mm diamater front wheels and cds as the rear wheels... this is just a quick explanation. what i need to do is find out how far the car...
  40. S

    Speed of a person jumping off a building?

    Alright, I need this information not for science homework, but for writing a short story. You see, I am very particular about the tiny details, and in the story there is going to be a superhuman jumping off a building. I want to know the speed of such a jump to dramatise the description, but...
  41. D

    Need help building aerodynamic billy cart

    My name is Dain, and I'm wondering if someone would be able to help me, or point me in the right direction on designing a aerodynamic 3 wheeled billy cart. Once a year at my old home town of Beechwood in NSW, Australia, is a 5.6 km 2 person billy cart race down Pappinbarra Mountain...
  42. J

    Design of floor joists in a domestic building

    Could i have some help with the following: Design, floor joists in a domestic building to span between walls 3.0m apart. the construction of the floor is 18mm timber boards joists 15mm overall plasterboard + skim coat The joists are 50mm wide and at 450mm centres The permissible...
  43. J

    Ball thrown from top of building

    rock is thrown from the edge of the top of a 100-ft tall building at some unknown angle above the horizontal. The rock strikes the ground a horizontal distance of 160 ft from the base of the building 5.0 s after being thrown. Assume that the ground is level and that the side of the building is...
  44. J

    R. Slansky, Group theory for unified model building

    I'm a beginning QFT student, trying to slog my way through Slansky's http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6TVP-46SPHMC-94&_user=4422&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000059600&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=4422&md5=c09eed961c9201786651592d71de94f3"... I...
  45. vincentm

    Stargazing Building a telescope ( from another one )

    Hello, I'm looking to build my first telescope from http://www.apogeeinc.com/product.asp?itemid=766 (PDF file). My question is this, is this a suitable guide in doing so? If not what steps should i take to successfully complete this task?
  46. F

    Optimizing Heat Loss in a Rectangular Building

    Homework Statement A rectangular building is being designed to minimize heat loss. The east and west walls lose heat at a rate of 10 units/m^2 per day, the north and south walls at a rate of 8 units/m^2 per day, the floor at a rate of 1 unit/m^2 per day, and the roof at a rate of 5 units/m^2...
  47. D

    Building a DC to DC voltage regulator

    Could anybody please assist me. I need to regulate 12 volts dc from a car battery down to 1.24 volts dc yet I still need to be able to draw 12 - 15 amps. Ideally I would like to be able to adjust the voltage. Does anybody have any ideas how I will be able to achieve this & if so, what...
  48. wolram

    Is a Fiberglass Monocoque Suitable for Building a 50-MPH Electric 3-Wheeler?

    Electric car, it has to have a 50 mile range before recharge, carry two people with room for cargo (shopping), be a home garage project, i have been looking round and think the WarP motor and Zilla controller are a good drive system run on 72 volts. Would a fiber glass monocoque with molded in...
  49. N

    Building a Motor Like the One in the Video

    I'm trying to build a motor like the one in this http://youtube.com/watch?v=h6Ev64h49wg&feature=related". I can't seem to figure out how the split ring works. From what I can tell, only one solenoid would be powered at a time, but wouldn't that be inefficient? Also if only one is powered...
  50. S

    Guy jumping off a building HELP

    Homework Statement a 75kg thief wants to escape from a 3rd story jail window.unfortunately, a makeshift rope made of sheets tied together can support a mass of only 58kg. how might he use this "rope" to escape ? give a quantitative answer. Homework Equations \Sigma F = T - mg (there...
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