Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on The Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster
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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 6 page paper examines this significant disaster in the nation's history. What can be learned form this engineering fiasco is also discussed. Bibliography lists 6 sources.
Page Count:
6 pages (~225 words per page)
File: RT13_SA547Tac.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
on the bridge and a rescue attempt proved unsuccessful ("Tacoma Narrows Bridge," 2005). However, the extent of property damage was enormous. It was a situation where human failure was certainly
a part of the explanation for the mess. After all, a bridge just does not collapse unless there is an enormous natural event such as a large earthquake. On that
fateful day, there was just a bit of wind. Normal wear and tear, or an ordinary storm, should not have enough power to destroy a well built bridge. In this
case, the bridge was only a few months old anyway, so age would not enter the picture. When all is said and done, the bridge did collapse during a windstorm
("WSDOT," 2005). The wind did the damage but it was designed in such a way as to allow such an event to occur. In other words, there were design flaws.
Many have claimed that this was the most significant bridge engineering failure in history ("WSDOT," 2005). Of course, there is some redeeming value in the disaster that cannot be overlooked.
The benefits of this disaster are as follows: "?The story of the failure of the 1940 Narrows Bridge and the success of the Current Narrows Bridge is a great American
saga. When Galloping Gertie splashed into Puget Sound, it created ripple effects across the nation and around the world. The event changed forever how engineers design suspension bridges. Gerties failure
led to the safer suspension spans we use today" ("WSDOT," 2005). This failure assured that future bridges would be safe. Although it is hard to fathom the idea that a
disaster is positive as it is a leaning experience, there was minimal loss of life in this disaster and it could have potentially been more disastrous. If hundreds of lives
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