View source for Bridge Bust

'''Bridge Bust''' was an event held at the 1979 Science Olympiad tournament at Lander College. It was also an event featured in the January 1981 issue of the ''Journal of College Science Teaching''.

== Description ==
The Bridge Bust is an event in which the support strength of a prebuilt newspaper bridge is determined by adding weights until the bridge collapses. The maximum weight is 100 grams.


== Rules ==
A bridge is constructed using only three full-sized sheets of regular black-and-white enwspaper and glue (of choice). The maximum permissible weight of the constructed bridge is 100 grams, and minimum dimensions specifiy that a bridge must (a) be 6 inches high at the center, i.e., a 6" x 6" block must be able to pass underneath the bridge; (b) have a base span between supports of 18 inches; and (c) have a width of 5 inches. (The bridge is actually a bridge span structure, since approachways are not required.) Weights are palced on the bridge by adding them to a salt box placed at the center. This is done by a representative from each school. Hint: Add weights in 50 or 100 gram units. It was quickly learned that 20 gram increments took too long.


== Winning Bridges ==

In 1979, the winning bridge collapsed under a load of 3.5kg.

In 1981, held a load of 3.5kg before collapsing.

== Related Events ==
* [[Tower Bust]]

[[Category:Event Pages]]