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The von Kármán Vortex Street and Tacoma Narrows Disaster

On December 15, 2016 · In Aerodynamics, Case Studies, Engineering, General Aerospace, History

On November 8, 1940 newspapers across America opened with the headline “TACOMA NARROWS BRIDGE COLLAPSES”. The headline caught the eye of a prominent engineering professor who, from reading the news story, intuitively realised that a specific aerodynamical phenomenon must have led to the collapse. He was correct, and became publicly famous for what is now known as […]

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