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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Why the ‘wobbly bridge’ did its infamous shimmy

Model further challenges the idea that pedestrians walking in step caused the oscillation of London’s Millennium Bridge.
People walking over the London Millennium bridge

The sheer number of people on the Millennium Bridge in London set the structure swaying in 2000, modelling reveals. Credit: Grant Rooney Premium/Alamy

Crossing the Thames was never more rhythmic than it was on 10 June 2000, when London’s Millennium Bridge opened and then visibly rocked as pedestrians ambled across. The bridge’s motion has been cited as evidence of the dangers of synchronized walking — everyone seemed to move in unison, supposedly tapping into the resonant frequency of the bridge and causing it to sway.

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Nature 600, 573 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-03675-0

References

  1. Belykh, I. et al. Nature Commun. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27568-y (2021).

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