The Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, is so tall that people perceive time differently from the top and bottom floors
MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP via Getty ImagesIt's so tall that people on the top and bottom of the building have a different read of time.
At 830 meters tall, the Burj Khalifa is twice the height of New York's Empire State Building. It far exceeds the scale of anything that's been built on Earth, Al wrote. From the top of the Burj, people can view so far into the Arabian Desert that they see the sun set several minutes after people on the ground see it set, per Al's book. It's had implications for the Muslim population in the building: As a result of the perceived time difference, those living on the higher floors of the Burj need to wait a few extra minutes before breaking their fast at sunset.
The building also"transcends the earth's local temperature and climate," Al wrote. That's because the Burj is so tall that its upper half occasionally emerges above the clouds, rendering it unaffected by the rain that's pouring at its base.