There is an amazing rotating boat lift in Scotland which is the only one of its kind in the world. It is called The Falkirk Wheel. It was designed to reconnect the Fourth and Clyde (both canals built in 1777) canals with the Union canal (complete in 1822). When they were completely done there was a difference of 79 feet in elevation between them. Something needed to be done to correct the problem. The planners wanted to design a unique boat lift that would connect the canals going east and west so that they could reach Glasgow with greater ease.
It has two arms that has a tub which fills with water. The tubs are filled accorcding to the Archimedes' Law. That means the tubs are balanced. Boats enter the tub and then the rotation begins. The rotation takes about 15 minutes to complete. Imagine all the planning that it took to put this kind of wheel together. I found a video on Youtube that I thought would help give a visual for it.
What a great way to see Scotland! Anyone up to a boat ride?
No comments:
Post a Comment
http://www.blogger.com/posts.g?blogID=6590297267502949744