Tacoma Narrows collapse

[andrewducker]

(or "Resonance: Do Not Want" - sent by octopoid_horror)

Comments

[pisica.livejournal.com]

In the US, this is standard fare for any physics class when they get to the 'resonance' unit. Any idea if it's the same in other countries? I wouldn't be surprised....

[bracknellexile.livejournal.com]

It is. I remember watching it at school in England back in the early '80s.

[rhythmaning.livejournal.com]

...and ditto for the mid-70s!

[henriksdal.livejournal.com]

Yep - I watched this at some point in Secondary School. Not sure it was physis, but then again, I can't think what other class we'd have watched it in.

[rhythmaning.livejournal.com]

Thanks for posting this - it is a fascinating film. Every time I see it, I am amazed at just how wrong the engineers and designers got it.

Wikipedia has an interesting article on the bridge and its collapse. It states that resonance wasn't an issue (curious, since it looks like resonating waves in the film), rather the cause was "aeroelastic fluttering". I have no idea what that means...

[vereybowring.livejournal.com]

It's one of those situations where the engineers designed something as usual, this happened then during the investigation a physicist mentioned natural resonance which upset the engineering community as they hadn't really heard of the concept.

[meihua.livejournal.com]

I never thought I'd see a resonance cascade, let alone create one!