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NEWS ABOUT: concrete

Gargantuan Mansion Sparks Ozarks Mystery

Some say it's a home for aliens, or possibly Brangelina...

(Newser) - Deep in the hills of the Ozarks, between Springfield and Branson, Mo., a 72,000-square-foot house is being built—and locals aren’t quite sure why. Some suggest it may be a military bunker, while others propose it’s a nuclear shelter for “important people”; still others wonder whether... More »

US Sending World's Biggest Concrete Pump to Japan

Same pump manufacturer that worked on Chernobyl disaster

(Newser) - The world's largest concrete pump—a 190,000-pound machine with a 230-foot boom called the "Putzmeister 70Z"—is being sent to Japan to help the troubled Fukushima reactors, reports the Augusta Chronicle . "There are only three of these pumps in the world, of which two are suited... More »

7 Unlikely Threats to the Planet

Mobile phones and concrete are on the list

(Newser) - Environmental hazards lurk everywhere, says LiveScience , which rounds up 7 "secret polluters." A sampling:
  • Cell phones: They use a rare mineral called coltan, which mainly comes from Congo via unsound mining methods. Plus, the phones have toxic chemicals that can pollute upon disposal.
  • Concrete: The way it's manufactured
... More »

Infected Concrete Heals Self: Study

Scientists create self-healing concrete

(Newser) - Bacteria that secrete minerals are a well-known tool for "healing" cracked limestone statues, and the process got a Dutch scientist thinking. He theorized that concrete seeded with bacteria and a substance they transform into calcium carbonate would create a material that's able to seal cracks as they form. It... More »

Atlanta Footbridge Collapse Kills 1

(Newser) - An elevated walkway under construction at Atlanta’s Botanical Garden collapsed today, killing a worker and injuring 18, the Journal-Constitution reports. Workers were pouring concrete for the 40-foot-high footbridge when the collapse set off a scene one EMT described as "sheer chaos." Those nearby described a “loud... More »

Did the Egyptians Invent Concrete?

New theory on the Pyramids: 'less sweat and more smarts'

(Newser) - The Egyptians may have used concrete to build the pyramids, an MIT professor suggests, and he's using materials available at the time (and students as his slave labor), to test the theory on a small mock-up of a pyramid, reports the Boston Globe. "It could be they used less... More »

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