Mathematical errors that caused historical disasters

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Mathematical errors that caused historical disasters
Source: listas.20minutos.es
A tiny flaw in the calculations have caused various accidents, which claimed the lives of hundreds of people in various parts of the world. These serious accidents occurred surprisingly as a result of small mathematical errors. We know that mathematics is part of the exact sciences and therefore, what is established by them does not accept another form. That is why at the time of applying them to daily life, any variation could mean or lead to a disaster.

TOP 1:

Sinking of the Titanic (propellers that only turned one way)

Sinking of the Titanic (propellers that only turned one way)
Sinking of the Titanic. Many hypotheses have been built around this ship; One of the ones that has gained the most strength is the failure of one of the ship's propellers. One of the main elements that made the Titanic work, were three steam propellers, the problem with this mechanism is that they could only turn one way, that is to say forward. When the crew saw the iceberg, no matter how hard it tried to turn, that system prevented it, which generated the fatal impact.

TOP 2:

Plane crash due to square windows

Plane crash due to square windows
The Havilland Comet was the first British company to manufacture airplanes, this in 1952. For two years it operated without problems, until in 1954, the company's executives decided to stop making flights, given that several fatal accidents occurred in that period of time. What caused the anomalies in the airplanes? It turns out that the designers of these airplanes decided to place square windows, which had four right angles of 90 degrees, which finally due to the pressure, force of the winds, as well as the ascent and descent formed small cracks, which over time , the crystals burst and depressurization occurred in the artifact. This phenomenon is called "material fatigue". That is why the windows in the airplanes have a somewhat oval shape, so the angles resist much more a change of forces and avoid such accidents.


TOP 3:

Serious accident in the "Cocoanut Grove" for placing the door upside down

Serious accident in the "Cocoanut Grove" for placing the door upside down
Cocoanut Grove was the most popular nightclub in Boston in the 1930s. At the end of 1942, the place was caught in the fire, an accident that claimed the lives of 492 people, which makes it one of the deadliest fires in The history of the United States. The fire originated because one of the workers of the place tried to find an outlet with the light of a match, which ended up lighting the place. The fact took the lives of so many people not only because the place violated the laws of overcrowding and construction, but also because the emergency doors, curiously opened inwards and when people crowded at the exits, it was impossible to open them.

TOP 4:

Collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge

Collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge
This was a suspension bridge over 1,600 meters in length; which was part of the route of the Washington Route 16 road, which connected Tacoma Narrows and Gig Harbor. In 1940 the drivers who passed by at 11 in the morning, witnessed the collapse of it. The airborne bridge was designed for wind currents to move it from side to side; however, that day the current blew strongly from one end to the other, causing undulations in the structure that eventually destroyed it. Without a doubt, a forecast error.

TOP 5:

St. Francis Dam, 1928

St. Francis Dam, 1928
The self-taught engineer William Mulholland built this dam in Los Angeles on faulty foundations and ignored the geology of the surrounding canyon. In addition, he despised the cracks that began to appear as soon as it began to fill. Five days later, the dam broke up killing 450 people and destroying entire cities (as well as Mulholland's career).


TOP 6:

Fighter planes crash through the corners of the runway

Fighter planes crash through the corners of the runway
During the times of the World Wars, the use of aircraft carrier landing strips that were sailing in the sea was very common. The task of putting the airplane on the ground was not easy, since there was a lot of movement in the sea, which caused many planes to crash with those on the other side to take off. After years and years of observing the phenomenon and putting remedies that did not work at all, it occurred to a group of engineers to trace the landing site nine degrees apart from the point where the other airplanes were waiting to leave. The solution was simple and extremely useful.

TOP 7:

Serious accident at the "Hyatt Regency" hotel in 1981

Serious accident at the "Hyatt Regency" hotel in 1981
In 1981, about 1,500 people celebrated the inauguration of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, a spectacular building for its time, as three transparent walkways were built inside, suspended in the air, through which people circulated. During the party dance, two of these structures collapsed, an accident that claimed the lives of more than 100 people. The event occurred because the platforms were not installed as originally thought. The catwalks were suspended by braces; for these to work properly they had to be fastened with a nut that would support its weight; however, one of the supports was placed two, which supported two weights in a single mechanism, something that ended up collapsing, in addition to the beams used only supporting 30 percent of the total weight of that fateful day.

TOP 8:

Airship R101, 1930

Airship R101, 1930
The accident of the British experimental airship R101 claimed the lives of forty-six people in 1930. Seven years before the Hindenburg disaster, the British thought it would be fun to turn around in a cloth bubble that housed 155 thousand cubic meters of hydrogen. On its maiden flight, the wind tore the airship cover. It was the largest airship built to date. Large lounges and large cabins. From it you could see the fascinating picture of the English landscape at high altitude. The inaugural flight, whose beginning dates from the night of October 4, 1930, was destined for India. But as if it were the “Titanic of the air”, his destiny was truncated by crashing exactly at 02:08 hours on October 5 of the same year against the side of a hill in North Paris due to a storm that enveloped him on fire, taking forty-six life between passengers and crew. Only 6 crew members survived.


TOP 9:

Skylab, 1973

Skylab, 1973
The first space station in the United States was irretrievably damaged during the launch, because some engineers had erred by not taking into account the aerodynamics of the shield against meteoroids and solar panels. When the crew members were not busy with constant repairs, they complained about the extreme heat on board.

TOP 10:

McDonnell Douglas DC-10, 1970s

McDonnell Douglas DC-10, 1970s
Before solving their problems, almost a thousand people around the world lost their lives because of this 290-tonne competitor of the Boeing 747. Warehouse doors that were laid off, crushed hydraulic lines, and engines that were released mid-flight They were just some of the first problems that this heavyweight faced.