Tower movement

[Bill Hibbert]

John Norris:

> Many years ago I saw a short film purporting to show
> that cracks in a foreign bell tower were caused by
> the tower resonating at the frequency of its single
> bell when the latter was rung. I wasn't wholly
> convinced; surely the tower would have a much lower
> resonant frequency?

No, I believe this is a proven phenomenon. The Towers and Belfries 
Committee held a seminar on tower movement recently - I seem to 
recall Brailes was one example - at which this subject was well 
covered. My memory is hazy (I didn't attend) but I'm sure someone on 
this list will give authoritative details. One of the results of the 
resonance is that hanging a peal of bells lower in a tower can make 
it sway more.

Bill H