Construction of a Tunnel Through a Mountain

Padyala, Radhakrishnamurty (2022) Construction of a Tunnel Through a Mountain. At Right Angles (14). pp. 21-23. ISSN 2582-1873

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Abstract

Constructing a tunnel through a mountain sounds a herculean task and appears almost impossible. Yet we see that such tunnels are constructed for defence, for shortening the distance between two places for trade, etc. It involves great engineering design skills and civil construction skills. It also needs tools, implements and instruments such as the dioptra. This article describes a method to construct a tunnel through a mountain. I felt that this simple geometric method would be of interest to students at high school and college levels as well as to a general reader who would appreciate the simplicity of the solution to what looks to be an unsolvable problem. The problem is stated in simple terms thus: To make a straight tunnel through a mountain, given the locations of the openings at each end.

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Articles in APF Magazines

Authors:

Padyala, Radhakrishnamurty

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