This is the world’s largest earthquake simulator, here’s how it works. For a free trial to Shopify go to
If you’re looking for a molecular modeling kit, head to to try Snatoms – a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically.
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A massive thank you to everyone at NIED for allowing access to their facility. Massive thanks to Okouchi-san for arranging this shoot.
A huge thank you to Dr. Yohsuke Kawamata for the tour of E-defense and for sharing his deep expertise.
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References:
Nakashima, M., et al. (2018). Experiences, accomplishments, lessons, and challenges of E‐defense. Tests using world’s largest shaking table. Japan Architectural Review, 1(1), 4-17. –
Suganuma, K. (2005). 3-D Full-Scale Earthquake Testing Facility (E-Defense). NISTEP Science & Technology Foresight Center. –
Ohtani, K., et al. (2004). Construction of E-Defense (3-D full-scale earthquake testing facility). In Thirteenth World Conference on Earthquake Engineering (Vol. 189). –
Horiuchi, T., et al. (2022). Contributions of E-Defense Shaking Table to Earthquake Engineering and its Future. Journal of Disaster Research, 17(6), 985-999. –
Nakamura, I., et al. (2008). E-Defense experiments on full-scale wooden houses. In Proceedings of the 14th World conference on earthquake engineering, Beijing, China (pp. 12-17). –
Japan: The Next Big Quake. Financial Times. –
Images & Video:
Kobe earthquake compilation –
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Special thanks to our Patreon supporters:
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Directed by Will Wood and Petr Lebedev
Written by Will Wood, Petr Lebedev and Derek Muller
Edited by Jack Saxon and Trenton Oliver
Animated by Fabio Albertelli, Ivy Tello, Leigh Williamson, David Szakaly
Filmed by Petr Lebedev, Lui Kimishima and Derek Muller
Produced by Will Wood, Petr Lebedev, Han Evans and Derek Muller
Thumbnail by Ren Hurley
Additional video/photos supplied by Getty Images and NIED (E-defense)
Music from Epidemic Sound
world , World’s Largest Earthquake Simulator , #Worlds #Largest #Earthquake #Simulator
, veritasium,science,physics
I'm really frightened of the ignorance of Turkish government after seeing what Japanese do something about earthquakes. We are literally living on a graveyard in Istanbul and they don't give a sh*t about this
Seeing a seismograph and thinking "Huh, that looks like it'd suck." VS plugging that data in and SEEING how bad things were is amazing. The amount of data this could provide is amazing.
someone protect that man at all costs
In Turkey Istanbul, home to 16 million people, soon to be expected great Marmara earthquake is estimated to take millions of lives with it… And we're not prepared…
10:06 There can't be an epicenter "16 km underground". Epicenter is by definition 0 km underground. Underground is the hypocenter.
I am not an engeener
All I learnt from this video is that I never want to be in any earthquake detectable by human beings.
What would happen if an earthquake hit that E-Defense hangar?
When I watch science documentaries I feel very proud of the human race, and then, I see politics 🤦
All homes in seismic zones around the world should be built based on this knowledge and standards.
While I already have enough as is, this is certainly one to add to the list of reasons why I respect Japan.
One suggestion I'd like to offer to keep water pipes and wiring intact would be to use multiple rotating joints along the pipes, analogous to a series of universal joints, while the wiring could be set up in a similar way, if not along the sides of the pipes.
Im wondering if there's a fraction of the population saying that earthquakes aren't real, or not actually dangerous, so building-codes shouldnt change.
I would imagine watching this on my phone is not doing justice to how large this place actually is, which is so amazing and cool
Interesting video, but why do you guys look so bored…?!?
Not going to lie, that dude isnt the greatest live. Half of what was said is oh boy, oh wow or right. It grates hard
Heard they're building one just like it at 6 Flags Fiesfa Texas!😂
I was in the Christchurch earthquakes in 2010-2011, they were magnitude 7.1 and 6.9 but here's where it gets weird. The 6.9 quake was far more destructive than the 7.1 because it was centered in a region with a much higher concentration of volcanic rock than the 7.1 quake. This volcanic rock magnified the seismic waves making the 6.9 earthquake far more devastating. It destroyed much of the city center and killed almost 200 people, whereas the 7.1 quake caused no fatalities at all.
This is engineering porn on another level 😀
That earthquake in Kobe was the great eye-opener for a lot of people. I'm glad the thinking and building have improved since then. Very cool earthquake simulator.
kinda feels odd that Derek isn't there himself and interviewing but is instead interviewing his own producer xD there isn't any explanation for why ether and those scenes were Derek looks at his laptop talking to the producer just feel unnecessary.
😅And that's the difference between Japan and my country, we have had floods and draughts for years but nothing is done to prevent them in future. Everything is left in "God's hands" while the disaster mitigation funds from donors are stolen by government officials. Africa has a long way to go
Is this a reupload? I swear I've seen this video before
Was a waste of liquid nitrogen. There has to be a easier way to do this now
The knowledge gained from this research institute is priceless.
If I may give some feedback for producer who's traveler into Japan. Too many "like" in sentences, it's not tictok masses video. I feel like veritasium set high quality of scientific content that precise description of things is core of it, so haveling no ability to articulate pain right away. Anyway hope that my feedback would help, it's only to help you guys 🙂 great content as usual, thank you
If time isn't real, why is time series data so powerful 🤔
What if the earthquake simulator gets destroyed by an earthquake?
I feel like there's a "your mom" joke somewhere here…
Even mother nature said fokh the japanese
would love to see how our buildings in Finland could handle that. ive heard that they would survive the worst earthquakes because of the cold winters.
"ask seismologist" what a bloody legend. japan the most advanced and one of the most beautiful nations of this amazing world.
as a carpenter in australia. the work these guys do sets the standards for everyones homes in the future.
because your local building authority will ensure the standards are in line with these guys.
As an individual from India, I express my support and extend heartfelt prayers to the people of China in the wake of the earthquake
8:55 I don't mean to "Um, actually…" but an increase of 1 on the magnitude scale represents a ~31x increase in the energy (so going up 2 levels means 1000x the energy)
Imagine knowing a Tsunami of 30m is upcoming in our city and instead of just running away, you just decided to develop technology to just protect everyone
Not everyone does it
Isn’t these stimulators act like a support on base as in case of soil interaction with structure; soil achieve its denser state and create gap between soil and building at base
Japan was the nation who should do a proper earthquake study and development faster than anyone else because it is just that active siesmically.
And they achieved it too. Considering how common earthquakes are, the general public is super aware of them and earthquakes no longer generate unnecessary panic there.
Great
You should look at the New Madrid fault line. It would be terrifying and felt across the continental US, parts of Canada, and Mexico.
If there is a country who should make thi, it is Japan
Great video! One small thing I noticed: you refer to the spot underground from where the earthquake originated as the epicenter, but in in geology there is a different terminology. 'Epi'center is the spot on the surface of the earth if you were to project the point of origination on the surface. The term for the actual underground point is hypocenter😊.
when i was a kid, i remember going to some science place in Canberra. They had an earthquake simulator room where people could go in there and feel what it was like to be in an earthquake, and it was scary. i don't remember the magnitude it was set at, but all the furniture and everything was stuck in place to prevent it falling on people during the simulation (and everyone was seated)
Huge respect to Japan, they really are a remarkable country.
we missed you