I remember when I was in primary school, reading about the world's history in the delightful small books.. Learning about the most important events in history.
From great achievements in the past, like the pyramids. Or brilliant minds, changing the world for the better, like Benjamin Franklin.
With so much information pressed in a small book, only little details could be given on the subjects, and we discussed them after. Great times.
However, I could not help but notice this little voice that would occasionally pop into my head, telling me it was all made up.
It was many years later that I realized that many lies can be told in a small time, or in this case a small book.
For it is easy to write a tale and leave out some details if they do not fit your narative.
But if you start looking into the stories individually the cracks begin to show, the questions increase, and the story falls apart.
Welcome, thank you for taking the time for reading and please comment.
Today we are looking at the Leaning Tower of Nevyansk.
Let us start with some basic information provided by Wikipedia.
-Build by Akinfi Demidov
-Constructed between 1702-1741
-Most likely between 1725-1732
-Records lost in fire
-Your guess is as good as anyone's, I suppose
Lightening rod
Also,
Did he now?
Buildings and inventors.. The stories are great, until we start to look into them seperately.
Thank you for reading this far, I hope to see many comments and your thoughts.
Have a great day,
M
From great achievements in the past, like the pyramids. Or brilliant minds, changing the world for the better, like Benjamin Franklin.
With so much information pressed in a small book, only little details could be given on the subjects, and we discussed them after. Great times.
However, I could not help but notice this little voice that would occasionally pop into my head, telling me it was all made up.
It was many years later that I realized that many lies can be told in a small time, or in this case a small book.
For it is easy to write a tale and leave out some details if they do not fit your narative.
But if you start looking into the stories individually the cracks begin to show, the questions increase, and the story falls apart.
Welcome, thank you for taking the time for reading and please comment.
Today we are looking at the Leaning Tower of Nevyansk.
Let us start with some basic information provided by Wikipedia.
''The Leaning Tower of Nevyansk (Russian: Невьянская наклонная башня; Nevyanskaya naklonnaja bashnja) is a leaning tower in Nevyansk, Russia, in Sverdlovsk Oblast east of the Urals Mountains. The tower was built in the 18th century by mining magnate Akinfi Demidov, son of Nikita Demidov, friend of Peter the Great and ruler of his own private mountain republic in the Urals.
Little factual information is known about the tower and therefore all the more folk tales. The tower is 57.5 meters high and, according to recent measurements, is about 2.2 meters off plumb at the top. The tower measures 9.5 by 9.5 meters to the ground. The walls are 2 meters thick at the base and 32 centimeters at the top. Nothing is known about the year of construction of the tower and the architect, except that the tower must have been built somewhere between 1702 and 1741. Today, as the construction period, scientists indicate 1725 to 1732 as the most likely period. The documents relating to the construction of the tower may have been lost in a fire in 1890. The year 1732 is engraved in the chimes in the tower, which may indicate that the tower was then completed. In 1735 the famous book Contours was published by mining engineer de Gennin, in which the completed tower is drawn as an illustration.''
-Build by Akinfi Demidov
-Constructed between 1702-1741
-Most likely between 1725-1732
-Records lost in fire
''The purpose of the tower is still speculated. Some think it was a Demidov bank vault. Others think it was a watchtower, clock tower or prison, and still others even that in the basement of the tower was a secret laboratory where chemical experiments were carried out and where counterfeit coins, the so-called "Demidov rubles", were minted. Finally, some think it was built as an architectural symbol of the Demidov family's wealth and power.''
-Your guess is as good as anyone's, I suppose
''In the tower is a room between the fifth and sixth floors, the purpose of which is still uncertain. This room was referred to by the archaeologists as the "acoustic room" because of the acoustics caused by the geometry of the room. The room has an area of approximately 20 m². If one person stands in a corner and whispers something, it can be heard by another person standing in a different corner. Akinfi may have tried to eavesdrop on his high-ranking guests. This sonic effect, according to the head of the physics faculty of the Yekaterinburg Architectural Institute, is explained by the optimal relationship between the length of a sound-speed wave in relation to the radius of the curvature of this room, amplifying acoustic waves.''
''
Research shows that very advanced techniques were used in the construction of the tower before that time.
In 1723, the Menshikov Tower in Moscow caught fire after a lightning strike. Akinfi or his architect therefore probably wanted to prevent his tower from suffering the same fate. The architect had a lightning conductor built on top of the tower in the form of a gilded sphere with points. If the tower was built between 1725 and 1732, it means that the lightning rod was developed by Russian engineers 25 years before Benjamin Franklin invented it. Another peculiarity is that the reinforced concrete principle was used in the construction to reinforce the tower, some 130 years before reinforced concrete was officially invented by a gardener from Paris.
Lightening rod
The tower is constructed with grounded iron bars, which are visible throughout the tower and also run through the walls. Remarkably, after 300 years, there are still no visible signs of corrosion on the iron parts used for the tower. According to scientists, these iron parts contain 99.6% iron. It is a mystery how such a high-quality metal was manufactured at the time, because it was not until the 20th century that an equivalent percentage was achieved.''
Also,
''The lightning rod was invented by Benjamin Franklin after an experiment performed on June 15, 1752, using a kite and wet kite rope during a thunderstorm.''
Did he now?
Buildings and inventors.. The stories are great, until we start to look into them seperately.
Thank you for reading this far, I hope to see many comments and your thoughts.
Have a great day,
M
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