Author: Emma Loggins
Date: 2008-01-20

Interview:
LIFE AFTER PEOPLE, premiering Monday, January 21st, 2008 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on The History Channel.

What would happen to planet earth if the human race were to suddenly disappear forever? Would ecosystems thrive? What remnants of our industrialized world would survive? What would crumble fastest? From the ruins of ancient civilizations to present day cities devastated by natural disasters, history gives us clues to these questions and many more in the visually stunning and thought-provoking new special.

We had the privilege of interviewing David Brin, one of the experts from Life After people. David Brin is a scientist, speaker, technical consultant and world-known author. His novels have been New York Times Bestsellers, winning multiple Hugo, Nebula and other awards. Brin received his Bachelor of Science in Astronomy from the California Institute of Technology, and both his Masters of Science in Applied Physics and Doctor of Philosophy in space science from the University of California, San Diego. Brin's work focuses on a number of themes common to contemporary North American science-fiction literature. His primary focus is the impact on human society of technology man develops for himself. Brin’s 1989 ecological thriller, Earth, foreshadowed global warming, cyberwarfare and near-future trends such as the Internet. Brin is a futurist whose scientific work covers an eclectic range of topics, from astronautics, astronomy to optics. As a founding contributor to Amazon.com/shorts, the online publishing venture for short stories and essays, David was a "Top Ten Author." His essays poke at convention and question comfortable assumptions. As a speaker and on television, Brin shares unique insights -- serious and humorous -- about ways that changing technology may affect our future lives.

We've seen an animation of the Sears Tower in Chicago collapsing. Can you explain the sequence of events that would lead to a steel-framed skyscraper collapsing with no humans around to maintain or use it?

Buildings like the Sears Tower are built with powerful strength in an up-down direction. Even decades of zero-maintenance – allowing windows to break and moist air to rust the girders – would not weaken this up-down strength appreciably, before other factors took their toll. Picture a very tall drinking straw. It can take a lot of weight for a long time.

What the designers fear is weakness in the lateral directions. For example, when the World Trade Centers came down, it was because the floors (that people walked upon) were weakened by the fire. When one of these gave way, it fell on the floor below, which caused that floor to collapse, while the outer walls held firm. For a while, until so much rubble wall tumbling down the middle that it PULLED inward on the strong out walls, causing them to buckle.

This can happen to the Sears tower, decades after maintenance stops, when:

1) ground water from Lake Michigan causes a tilt

2) broken windows let harsh storms get a strong grip on the tower

3) rusted supports are pushed sideways.