Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Photo Credit: https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/561125/bridge-poem-rushin/

 

Code Number: 3A60.10

Demo Title: Tacoma Narrows Bridge

Condition: Good

Principle: Resonance

Area of Study: Oscillations & Acoustics

Equipment: 

Formerly available in these formats: 1 ea. - VHS tape with a short and long version of Tacoma Narrows Bridge, 1 ea. - VHS tape labeled "Architectural Disasters - Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse.", 2 ea. - 16 mm films of Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse.", 1 ea. - video disc labeled, "The Puzzle of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse.", 1 ea. - film loop labeled, "The Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse.", One set of 8-35 mm slides of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge before the collapse.

Now available from YouTube.

Procedure:

No advanced notice necessary.

References:

  • Kevin Kilty, "The Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse Revisited", TPT, Vol. 59, #6, Sept. 2021, p. 491.
  • Don Olson, Joseph Hook, Russell Doescher, and Steven Wolf, "Authors' Reply", TPT, Vol. 54, #1, Jan. 2016, p. 5.
  • Robert Gibbs, "The Narrows Bridge Cover Photo and Film Loop Speed", TPT, Vol. 54, #1, Jan. 2016, p. 5.
  • Don Olson, Joseph Hook, Russell Doescher, and Steven Wolf, "The Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse on Film and Video", TPT, Vol. 53, #8, Nov. 2015, p. 461.
  • William Dittrich, Leonid Minkin, and Alexander S. Shapovalov, "Mechanical Parametric Oscillations and Waves", TPT, Vol. 51, #3, Mar. 2013, p. 163.
  • Albert Allen Bartlett, "Bridge Oscillations Reference", TPT, Vol. 41, #5, May 2003, p. 261.
  • Bernard J. Feldman, "What to Say About the Tacoma Narrows Bridge to Your Introductory Physics Class", TPT, Vol. 41, #2, Feb 2003, p. 92.
  • Harriet Slogoff and Bill Berner, "A Simulation of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge Oscillations", TPT, Vol. 38, #7, Oct. 2000, p. 442.
  • Joe Crnkovich, "More on Partial Credit", TPT, Vol. 16, #2, Feb. 1978, p. 75.
  • Wallace A. Hilton, "Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse, A Demonstration", TPT, Vol. 15, #3, Mar. 1977, p. 189.
  • Daniel Green and William G. Unruh, "The Failure of the Tacoma Bridge: A Physical Model", AJP, Vol. 74, #8, Aug. 2006, p. 706.
  • K. Yusuf Billah and Robert H. Scanlan, "Resonance, Tacoma Narrows Bridge Failure, and Undergraduate Physics Textbooks", AJP, Vol. 59, #2, Feb. 1991, p. 118.
  • Donald W. Olson, Steven F. Wolf, and Joseph M. Hook, "The Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse", Physics Today, Vol. 68, #11, Nov. 2015, p. 64.
  • Jearl Walker, "4.84. Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse", The Flying Circus of Physics with Answers.
  • Jearl Walker, "2.129, Aerodynamics of Cables and Lines", The Flying Circus of Physics Ed. 2, p. 138.
  • Jearl Walker, "2.4, Collapse of the Old Tacoma Narrows Bridge", The Flying Circus of Physics Ed. 2, p. 84.
  • Jearl Walker, "1.124, Footbridge and Dance Floor Oscillations", The Flying Circus of Physics Ed. 2, p. 61.
  • "Daring and Disastrous Spans", Technology, p. 266.
  • Nathan A. Unterman, "The Rebuilt Tacoma Narrows Bridge".
  • This Day In Physics History, "November 7, 1940: Collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge", APS News, Vol. 25, #10, Nov. 2016, p. 4.
  • Curt Suplee, "Before the Fall", Everyday Science Explained, National Geographic, p. 64.
  • W. Bolton, "The Resonance of Structures", Book 2 - Waves and Particles, Physics Experiments and Projects, 1968, p. 89 - 90.
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