Editing Unisphere (section)

==Design==
===Globe===
[[File:Unisphere in summer.jpg|thumb|Seen in 2010|alt=The Unisphere as seen in 2010, with fountains in the foreground]]
<!--[[File:Unisfera Flushing.jpg|thumb|Seen in 2010|alt=The Unisphere as seen in 2010, with gardens in the foreground]]-->
The Unisphere is the world's largest globe. It measures {{convert|120|ft|0}} in diameter, rises {{convert|140|ft|0}}, and weighs {{convert|700,000|lb|0}}.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1032" /><ref name="NYCL p. 4">{{harvnb|ps=.|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1995|page=4}}</ref> Including its {{convert|100|ST|0|adj=on}} inverted tripod base, which is made of sturdy low-alloy steel, the Unisphere weighs {{convert|900,000|lb|0}}.<ref name="NYCL p. 4" /><ref name="Muschamp 1994" /><ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1033">{{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1995|ps=.|p=1033}}</ref> The globe is constructed of [[Austenitic stainless steel#AISI 200 and 300 series|Type 304L stainless steel]]. The continents on the globe are fabricated with a special texture-pattern by [[Rigidized Metals Corporation]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Brake|first=Alan G.|title=Focus on Fabrication> Rigidized Metals|website=The Architect's Newspaper|date=February 26, 2014|url=http://www.archpaper.com/news/articles.asp?id=6657|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226052126/http://www.archpaper.com/news/articles.asp?id=6657|archive-date=February 26, 2014|url-status=dead|access-date=July 27, 2020}}</ref> The horizontal beams on the frame are meant to represent longitude lines.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1032" /> Over five hundred pieces of steel were used in the construction of the globe.<ref name="n82219504" /> The Unisphere is tilted at an angle of 23.5 degrees, which is the angle of the Earth's equatorial plane to the plane of its orbit about the sun.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1032" /><ref name="NYCL p. 4" />

Three large orbit rings of stainless steel encircle the Unisphere at various angles. These orbit rings are believed to represent the tracks of [[Yuri Gagarin]], the first man in space; [[John Glenn]], the first American to orbit Earth; and [[Telstar]], the first active [[communications satellite]].<ref name="NYCL p. 4" /><ref name="Short 2016" /> The early design was to have a ring for each of a dozen satellites in place at the time of the World's Fair. This proved impractical, not only in the number of satellites but also in the height of their orbits and the fact that [[Geostationary orbit|geostationary]] satellites had no orbit path. As a result, a symbolic number of three was chosen for aesthetic reasons.<ref name="Short 2016">{{cite book|last1=Short|first1=Daniel|title=Unisphere: Symbol of the 1964–1965 New York World's Fair|date=2016|publisher=Arethusa Press|isbn=978-0-692-50867-1|edition=1st}}</ref> The three rings were connected with aircraft cable to the rest of the structure.<ref name="NYCL p. 4" /> Another proposal entailed having lights revolve around the satellite rings, but this idea was also decided against.<ref name="p115522865" />

The landmasses of the Unisphere are made of metal sheets that are laid in contours. The shapes had to be placed at regular intervals while also accurately representing the globe, and could not be cross-braced or overly thick; furthermore, wind was trapped by the shapes' concave inner surfaces. As such, a stress transfer pattern was developed, and the meridians and parallels were varied in dimension, thereby making the Unisphere structurally stable as well as accurate in design.<ref name="NYCL p. 4" /> U.S. Steel's administrative vice president Austin J. Paddock said that some 670 mathematical equations needed to be solved simultaneously to determine the exact layout of the Unisphere.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1033" /><ref name="vv19630314" /> The shape of the steel sheets was devised using a computer.<ref name="Rogers 2017" /> The surface area of the landmasses totals over {{Convert|13000|ft2}}, effectively acting as a large sail.<ref name="p750198061" />

===Base===
[[File:New York World's Fair August 1964.jpeg|thumb|The Unisphere and surrounding areas in 1964]]The Unisphere is centered in a {{convert|310|ft|m|adj=mid|-diameter}} circular reflecting pool, with a floor of poured concrete surrounded by a bulkhead of granite and concrete. Forty-eight pairs of fountainheads, on the outer edge of the pool, are designed to obscure its tripod pedestal.<ref name="NYCL p. 4" /> Prior to the 1990s renovation, there were 48 single fountainheads.<ref name="NYC Parks Unisphere" /> Two pumps in the pool recycle the water that is used in the fountainheads. The effect is meant to obscure the tripod supporting the Unisphere, making the globe appear as if it is floating in space.<ref name="n82194889" /> From the perimeter of the reflecting pool, the Unisphere is meant to depict the Earth as seen from {{convert|4000|mi}} away.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1995|page=6}}</ref>

The Unisphere is built on a concrete foundation, which includes the piling ring that supported the [[Trylon and Perisphere|Perisphere]] of the [[1939 New York World's Fair|1939 World's Fair]].<ref name="AR 1964" /><ref name="NYCL p. 4" /><ref name="NYC Parks Unisphere" /> The marshy soil of Flushing Meadows needed special consideration during the original 1937 Perisphere construction. The Perisphere, and subsequently the Unisphere, employed a foundation of 528 pressure-[[creosote]]d [[Douglas fir]] piles of {{convert|95|to|100|ft|m}} in length. Before construction of the Unisphere, three piles were tested for structural integrity and all were found to be sound throughout their entire length.<ref>{{cite book|author=American Wood Preservers Institute|author2=American Wood-Preservers' Association|title=Wood Preserving News|publisher=American Wood Preservers Institute.|issue=v. 43–44|year=1965|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HKDmAAAAMAAJ|access-date=July 27, 2020|page=16|archive-date=January 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123222900/https://books.google.com/books?id=HKDmAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> Six hundred additional piles were built specifically for the Unisphere.<ref name="Rogers 2017" />

=== Surroundings ===
{{Flushing Meadows-Corona Park map|float=right|highlight=15}}
[[File:Rocket thrower Unisphere jeh.jpg|thumb|The Unisphere and nearby ''[[Rocket Thrower]]'' sculpture by [[Donald De Lue]]]]
Pathways radiate axially from the Unisphere to the north, northeast, southeast, and south.<ref name="NYC Parks Unisphere" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Dunlap|first=David W.|author-link=David W. Dunlap|date=August 26, 2001|title=A Queens Park's Past Shapes Its Future|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url-access=limited|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/26/realestate/a-queens-park-s-past-shapes-its-future.html|access-date=July 26, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726024551/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/26/realestate/a-queens-park-s-past-shapes-its-future.html|url-status=live}}</ref> There are plaques facing the four major paths that extend from the Unisphere.<ref name="NYCL p. 4" /> The courts of the former [[Louis Armstrong Stadium (1978–2016)|Louis Armstrong Stadium]], to the north, had been oriented along the same axis as the Unisphere.<ref>{{harvnb|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|ps=.|p=1309}}</ref> Additionally, a pair of promenades extend east of the Unisphere, with the Fountains of the Fairs between the paths. The entrance to the Queens Museum is directly west of the Unisphere, while the [[Billie Jean King National Tennis Center]] is to the north and the [[New York State Pavilion]] is to the south.<ref>{{cite book|title=Conceptual Framework|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/vt_flushing_meadows/presentation/03conceptualframework1.pdf|publisher=[[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation]]|volume=Part 1|pages=16–19|access-date=November 12, 2017|archive-date=July 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726172426/https://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/vt_flushing_meadows/presentation/03conceptualframework1.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>