Tacoma Bridge Collapse: Aeroelastic Flutter, not Resonance

The first Tacoma Narrows Bridge, one of the longest suspension bridges of its time, was built to span the Tacoma Narrows Strait in Washington state. It collapsed in 1940 only four months after opening due to strong winds that caused the bridge to vibrate and earned it the nickname "Gallopping Gertie." Many physicists thought this phenomenon was due to the bridge's oscillation at its corresponding resonant frequecy. However, engineers have assured us that it is infact a result of aeroelastic flutter.

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