mountainman
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An episode is available on TheBox.bz:
Richard Hammond checks out one of the world?s tallest and most distinctively shaped hotels ? the 121 metre high Burj al Arab, or Arabian Tower. Rising from its own custom-built island, 300 metres offshore, the sail-shaped structure has already become one of the world?s most recognisable buildings, and an icon for Dubai, on the Persian Gulf. Behind the acres of gold leaf and marble lie ingenious engineering solutions. Sea defences, inspired by the game of jacks, rely on the power of nothing to absorb the energy of waves. The cam of an engine which rotates with an ?eccentric? off-centre movement allows engineers to overcome desert heat. Controls for the luxurious electrical fittings could have threatened the safety of the building. The air-conditioning in a tall hotel in the desert might have made it impossible to open the door without the engineering legacy of a 19th Century French coal-mine ? the airlock. And a new kind of fire hose enabled engineers to create a spectacular and unnaturally glassy fountain display.
Richard Hammond checks out one of the world?s tallest and most distinctively shaped hotels ? the 121 metre high Burj al Arab, or Arabian Tower. Rising from its own custom-built island, 300 metres offshore, the sail-shaped structure has already become one of the world?s most recognisable buildings, and an icon for Dubai, on the Persian Gulf. Behind the acres of gold leaf and marble lie ingenious engineering solutions. Sea defences, inspired by the game of jacks, rely on the power of nothing to absorb the energy of waves. The cam of an engine which rotates with an ?eccentric? off-centre movement allows engineers to overcome desert heat. Controls for the luxurious electrical fittings could have threatened the safety of the building. The air-conditioning in a tall hotel in the desert might have made it impossible to open the door without the engineering legacy of a 19th Century French coal-mine ? the airlock. And a new kind of fire hose enabled engineers to create a spectacular and unnaturally glassy fountain display.