Shake it up

Bridge shaking experiment Want to see what happens to a bridge during an 8.0 magnitude earthquake? Huge "shake tables" help engineers understand the impact of earthquake forces on bridges and other construction.

You can watch

This Thursday (Feb 15) at 10 am Reno, Nevada time, a quarter scale, 110 ft., 4 span bridge section will be shaken by forces twice the intensity of the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

The Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) website has provided links to a variety of resources:

• See the actual tests on Feb. 15 (10 am Reno time).
• Watch workers setting up the experiment (anytime).
• Study their powerpoint slide presentation.