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Nov 13, 2009 · The Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapses due to high winds on November 7, 1940. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge was built in Washington during the 1930s and opened to traffic on July 1, 1940. It...
Mar 9, 2019 · This phenomenon is called aeroelastic flutter. It’s the same reason that a strap or sheet of paper vibrates in the wind. It’s a completely separate mechanism than resonance from vortex shedding, because the periodic forces are self induced from the naturally unstable aerodynamic shape of the bridge.
Jan 13, 2003 · On November 7, 1940, at about 11 a.m., the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapses in a high wind. The bridge spanned the Tacoma Narrows, a deep, narrow section of Puget Sound that separates Tacoma from Gig Harbor and the Key Peninsula. The bridge collapses four months and seven days after it is dedicated.
November 2016 (Volume 25, Number 10) This Month in Physics History. November 7, 1940: Collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. When the Tacoma Narrows Bridge over Puget Sound in the state of Washington famously collapsed on November 7, 1940, it was captured on film for posterity.
The first Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened to traffic on July 1, 1940. Its main span collapsed into the Tacoma Narrows four months later on November 7, 1940, at 11:00 a.m. (Pacific time) possibly as a result of aeroelastic flutter caused by a 42 mph (68 km/h) wind. The bridge collapse had lasting effects on science and engineering.
The fateful day unfolds. In the early morning hours of November 7, 1940 strong winds blew through the Narrows from the southwest. They blasted Gertie broadside, directly against the deck's solid plate girder. The bridge began undulating, "galloping," with several waves 2 to 5 feet high.
Professional photographer James (Jim) Bashford gets credit for snapping the most famous photograph of Galloping Gertie's spectacular collapse. On the morning of November 7, 1940 Bashford got news that the bridge was behaving wildly and rushed to the Narrows.
