A closer look
Mother Nature loves to remind us that our indestructible infrastructure is just a hot day away from turning into al dente pasta. Steel expands when subjected to high temperatures, and if a continuous rail doesn't have enough room to breathe, the immense compressive force violently buckles the track. These deformations, adorably nicknamed 'sun kinks,' can derail massive freight trains in an instant. It’s a sobering reminder that all our heavy steel engineering can still be easily defeated by a particularly sunny Tuesday.
