Originally Posted By Mr X So, today's aftershock was one we were "prepared for", as the television told us it was coming. I was in the other room, and Little X said casually "Dad! Earthquake!". And I was like "huh? I don't feel anything", and she was like "Just come here and look, Dad". So I go out and look at the TV, and they've got all the warning stuff up and a big X where the epicenter was thought to be. So I said to her "oh, it's over right?", and she was like "No, Dad, it's coming". And then I noticed the t.v. was doing that weird countdown chime. And sure enough, around 3,2,1 we were shaking (pretty big one, too, relatively speaking). Anyway, it was surreal to say the least. But up in the stricken zones it must be invaluable for folks as they have the chance to brace, get away from tall or heavy objects, etc...not to mention the trains can be stopped and power plant workers can move away from the dangerous plutonium or whatever it is they do.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper Wow, I've been away from earthquake prone areas for a while now. I had no idea the technology had advanced so much.
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 Wow, that is pretty impressive. I'm going to have to look into how they do it.
Originally Posted By pecos bill It seems that when I see footage of people in buildings during the quakes now, the look on their faces is more determination than fright. Certainly a case of brilliant technology that you hope will be used very little, if ever again.
Originally Posted By Labuda Wow, that's amazing! I, too, had NO idea the technology had advanced to this point. Yay science!
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Yay science!*** Indeed! I am convinced that the early warning systems saved countless thousands of lives in Japan.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< I am convinced that the early warning systems saved countless thousands of lives in Japan. >>> One of the ways the early warning systems are deployed are to protect the passengers on the Shinkansen (bullet trains). When the earthquake early warning system is triggered for a particular area, the affected Shinkansens automatically do an emergency stop. 30 seconds isn't enough time to bring a train going 180mph to a complete stop, but it can certainly be slowed down enough to greatly reduce the chance of a fatal derailment. In fact, some Shinkansen models have integrated airbrakes that are used in addition to the normal brakes on the wheels. They deploy only in emergencies: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hueyovs/503174037/" target="_blank">http://www.flickr.com/photos/h...3174037/</a> The yellow "ears" in the picture are the airbrakes, and they're deployed here at rest for demonstration purposes. You normally would never see them.
