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[tvoivozhd <tvoivozd AT infionline.net>]

Well, domes are earthquake-proof too, but foam-cement sandwich panels in 
roof and walls employ the skills carpenters already know, and with which 
they are comfortable.

WHEN people die in earthquakes, they are often killed by their own 
houses collapsing on top of them. That could change if a new 
construction material similar to styrofoam is used instead of more 
traditional bricks and mortar.

In tests on 19 January, a two-storey house built from panels of expanded 
polystyrene sandwiched between cement boards survived a simulated 
earthquake of magnitude 10, stronger than the world has ever 
experienced. The quakes that struck Turkey and Iran in 2003 both 
measured less than magnitude 7, but thousands died when large numbers of 
brick buildings collapsed.

The foam technology could help prevent such devastating loss of life, 
says Rachel Jagoda from the Federation of American Scientists in 
Washington DC, which organised the trial. The material stands up to 
violent shaking because the foam is lightweight, while the cement 
coating makes it rigid - features that help a house to stand when others 
would fall.

Houses made from the composite panels are not only earthquake-proof, but 
also relatively cheap, simple to construct and energy-efficient. "We 
hope that agencies and governments in countries that could use this 
technology will see it and take off with it on their own," Jagoda told 
/New Scientist/.

From issue 2484 of New Scientist magazine, 29 January 20