This November marks another anniversary of the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, an example appropriate to introductory science or physical sciences courses from grade school to university. The purpose of this brief submission is to add an element to this story, which, despite having been mentioned before, has not received the prominence it deserves either as explanation for the event or for its cautionary lesson for design engineers. Specifically these are broken cable stays observed on the north side of the bridge prior to the bridge collapse.
References
1.
“
Twin Views of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge,” DVD
(American Association of Physics Teachers
, 2000
), ISBN 0-917853-95-4. This resource includes a user’s guide and a DVD. Its suggested activities are appropriate for K-16.2.
Theodore von
Kármán
and Lee
Edson
, The Wind and Beyond: Theodore von Kármán, Pioneer in Aviation and Pathfinder in Space
(Little, Brown and Co.
, 1967
).3.
“
Twin Views of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, A user’s guide to accompany the DVD
,” American Association of Physics Teachers
, (2000
), ISBN 0-917853-95-4. The quotation cited is on page 6 of the user’s guide.4.
Robert G.
Fuller
, Dean A.
Zollman
, and Thomas C.
Campbell
, “The Puzzle of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse
,” Videodisc (John Wiley and Sons Inc.
, New York
, 1979
). Supplied in Ref. 1.5.
K.Y
Billah
and R.H.
Scanlan
, “Resonance, Tacoma Narrows bridge failure, and undergraduate physics textbooks
,” Am. J. Phys.
59
, 118
–124
(Feb.
1991
).6.
Bernard J.
Feldman
, “What to say about the Tacoma Narrows Bridge to your introductory physics class
,” Phys. Teach.
41
, 92
(Feb.
2003
).7.
Don
Olson
, Joseph
Hook
, Russell
Doescher
, and Steven
Wolf
, “The Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse on film and video
,” Phys. Teach.
53
, 461
(Nov.
2015
). This article does not address the cause of the failure, but rather explores the time scale of observations as revealed through video analysis.8.
“Aerodynamic Stability of Suspension Bridges,”
University of Washington Engineering Experiment Station Bulletin
116
, parts I-IV (Seattle, WA
, 1949
-54).9.
Othmar H.
Ammann
, Theodore von
Kármán
, and Glenn B.
Woodruff
, “A Failure of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge
” (March
1941
). Available through the Babel project at the Hathi Trust (hathitrust.org). This report is noteworthy in many ways: It clarifies efforts made to stiffen the bridge and suppress its galloping before opening. It notes the broken cable stay as the significant event leading to collapse. It provides eye-witness accounts. It allegedly provides drawings of design efforts to suppress galloping, which do not clarify these at all, and makes an ex cathedra defense of these efforts.10.
© 2021 Author(s). Published under an exclusive license by American Association of Physics Teachers.
2021
Author(s)
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