Re: Sodaplay: Tacoma Narrows resonator

[William Beaty <billb@ESKIMO.COM>]

On Thu, 7 Dec 2000, Leigh Palmer wrote:

> I have great difficulty understanding the death grip some folks
> have on calling this phenomenon a resonance. What is the practical
> value in doing so? All that is accomplished if one admits this new
> meaning is that the meaning of the term becomes less precise. The
> only benefit seems to be that the Tacoma Narrows Bridge film can
> then be shown as an example of that other meaning.

It was my understanding of the Tacoma Narrows film that the wind happened
to be moving at just the right speed so that the vortex-shedding frequency
hit a natural oscillation frequency of the bridge, and so the amplitude
grew enormous.  It's "flag flapping" which drives a swinging pendulum.
For months before the disaster, the wind was at the wrong speed.  Am I
mistaken?



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William J. Beaty                                  SCIENCE HOBBYIST website
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