What Makes the Egg Shell1 So Strong?是什么使蛋壳这样坚固？

Rama Kumaraswamy Thoopal

Have you ever wondered why hens dont break their eggs when they siton them？ The secret lies in the shape of the egg. An egg is a great example ofnatures excellent skills in packing. If you squeeze2 the ends of an eggbetween the palms3 of your hands， it wont break. However， if you squeeze itin the middle， it pops and creates a terrible mess.

If you have seen the way eggs are sold in the market， you would havenoticed that they are kept with their ends pointing up and are never left lyinghorizontally4. Although an eggshell is really weak， its special dome-shaped5end makes it a“tough nut to crack6”.

If you have seen the Taj Mahal or any mosque7， you would have noticedthat the roof is a huge dome.

In earlier architectural8 forms， buildings had huge flat roofs which hadto be supported by a large number of pillars9. The dome is， however， adifferent structure—it has no corners.

What the dome does is that it makes the weight and the pressure on thetop apply evenly to the whole. In fact， in buildings， the dome is one of thestrongest designs for it supports the weight of the roof evenly so that no singlepoint on the dome supports the whole weight and gives way under stress.

Similarly， the dome shape of each end of the egg minimizes10 the stress.

你有沒有想过为什么母鸡坐在鸡蛋上面时不会弄碎鸡蛋？秘密在于鸡蛋的形状。鸡蛋是大自然优秀包装技巧的一个很好的例子。如果你用双手手掌挤压鸡蛋的两端，它不会破裂。然而，如果你挤压它的中间，它就会啪地爆开，造成一片狼藉。

如果你看到了市场上出售鸡蛋的方式，你会注意到它们的两头是朝上的，而永远不会被横着放。尽管蛋壳真的很脆弱，但它特殊的圆顶形两端使它成为“难以破开的坚果”。

如果你看过泰姬陵或任何清真寺，你会注意到它们的屋顶是一个巨大的圆顶。

在早期的建筑形式中，建筑物有巨大的平屋顶，必须由大量的柱子支撑。然而，穹顶是一个不同的结构———它没有角。

穹顶的作用是将顶部的重量和压力均匀地分布到整体。事实上，在建筑物中，穹顶是最坚固的设计之一，因为它均匀地支撑着屋顶的重量，因此穹顶上的任何一点都不会承受全部的重量，也不会在压力下倒塌。

类似地，蛋两端的圆顶形状将压力降至最低。

Notes

1. shell 壳

2. squeeze 挤压

3. palm 手掌

4. horizontally 水平地

5. dome-shaped 圆顶状的；穹顶

6. crack 砸开；砸碎

7. mosque 清真寺

8. architectural 建筑学的

9. pillar 柱子；支柱

10. minimize 使减少到最低限度