Seventy-five years ago Saturday, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge swayed and twisted until a section plunged about 190 feet before splashing into Puget Sound.
The collapse of “Galloping Gertie,” as the bridge was nicknamed, proved a cautionary tale in high-school physics classes. Dramatic film shot that day showed the bridge twist nearly 45 degrees before crumbling, which punctuated teachers’ lessons on why physics and the principle of resonance were important.
A new study
by researchers at Texas State University, however, claims one famous clip of the action, shot from the bridge deck, speeds up the footage and makes it look more dramatic. The study also highlights other research that shows teachers who blamed resonance had it all wrong.
Two photographers were filming the bridge on Nov. 7, 1940. One filmed at 16 frames per second from the deck as the bridge twisted in the wind. The other filmed at 24 frames per second from a nearby cliffside as the span toppled into the Sound.
Here’s what happened, according to Olson, who uses physics to solve mysteries in art and history
: When the film was converted into what would later be used in physics classrooms across the country, both film clips were converted as if they ran at 24 frames per second.
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While physics textbooks and teachers have blamed resonance for the bridge’s collapse, they were wrong, the newest studies say
.
“The bridge was destroyed by a different phenomenon,” said Bernard Feldman, a professor of physics at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
