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Bridge Disasters

When things go wrong we learn most about forces.

Tacoma Narrows

(video takes a few seconds, 700kB)

This is a classic which illustrates the dangers of resonance! What caused the violent undulations? Did the bridge collapse?
Tasman Bridge Tasman Bridge disaster with SS Lake Illawarra still visible The Tasman Bridge was opened in August 1964. It was a four-lane, high level concrete bridge.

On 5 January 1975 The ship Lake Illawarra collided with the Tasman Bridge.

Two piers collapsed and 127 metres of road. Four cars fell into the river, two others teetered on the brink. Twelve people died. Was it compression or tension forces which made road collapse?

Or was it both?

BRIDGE STRESS IN PUBLIC

The Millenium Bridge in London was closed on its opening day as it swayed alarmingly.

ArchWeek Photo On its 50th anniversary in 1987, the  Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco flattened  dramatically beneath throngs of admirers.

What's up with these wobbly bridges?

Was gravity or resonance the cause?