Graham: The only crash-proof human
69,054You have likely seen a dam before and may even benefit from its energy-producing capacity. But do you really know what a dam is and how it works? Do you also know that dams reshape the world around us in incredible ways?
For instance, China’s Three Gorges Dam is so massive that it actually slows the Earth’s rotation. When the dam is at capacity, its reservoir holds 42 billion tons of water, creating a shift in mass powerful enough to slow down the planet’s rotation, increasing the length of a day by 0.06 microseconds. It might sound unbelievable, but it’s true!
But not all big dams’ effects are as harmless as this one. Some water-holding dams can be quite disastrous. The 1975 Banqiao Reservoir Dam failure caused the catastrophic collapse of 62 dams, including the Banqiao Dam, and killed more than 171,000 people. It also caused 11 million people to lose their homes.
However, most dams do indeed bring plenty of benefits to their environment. They provide energy and water for farming. Reservoirs created by dams also help control flooding, and by filling valleys in this manner, they can be used for boating, fishing, and other human recreation.
Want to hear more about the many many currents and future dams worldwide and their stories, both good and bad? Then watch our video.
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