CN Tower in Toronto, looking down at the open Skydome. My parents refused to stand on the glass floor, despite countless assurances that countless thousands before them have jumped up and down on that same floor for decades
I think they usually use several layers of thick glass for these floors, so even if you dropped a coffee mug on the glass and it broke, there should be several more layers under it that should still be plenty strong to support your weight. Also I don’t think glass experiences bending stress the same way metal does, where it gets most of its damage from impact fractures. Meaning you can bend glass a lot and it won’t change, but if you introduce micro fractures it can weaken considerably. So an engineer would probably consider the first sheet of glass as sacrificial.
Been a long time since I read about this stuff though, would love input from someone better read.
CN Tower in Toronto, looking down at the open Skydome. My parents refused to stand on the glass floor, despite countless assurances that countless thousands before them have jumped up and down on that same floor for decades
Structural fatigue means that someday, all of that previous jumping will do enough cumulative damage to weaken the glass frame.
I have no interest in being the straw that breaks that particular camels back, as remote a possibility as it may be.
Fun fact: the same argument applies to opaque floors
True, but they are usually not just a single layer of a fragile material like glass.
I think they usually use several layers of thick glass for these floors, so even if you dropped a coffee mug on the glass and it broke, there should be several more layers under it that should still be plenty strong to support your weight. Also I don’t think glass experiences bending stress the same way metal does, where it gets most of its damage from impact fractures. Meaning you can bend glass a lot and it won’t change, but if you introduce micro fractures it can weaken considerably. So an engineer would probably consider the first sheet of glass as sacrificial.
Been a long time since I read about this stuff though, would love input from someone better read.
I wouldn’t be scared to stand on it, or even jump on it. But what is there even to gain?
I’m with your parents. Jump up and down all you like, I’ll be over here.
As someome who is acrophobic and has walked on that glass floor, fuck that. There’s a whole lot of down between me and the ground there.