Erin Schaff/The New York TimesForce of Ship Collision Was on the Scale of a Rocket LaunchThe container ship Dali appeared to move sluggishly before striking the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Tuesday. Experts disagreed on whether it was reasonable for any bridge pier to withstand a direct collision with a massive container ship. F = ma force mass acceleration F = ma force mass accelerationOur first task, and a major source of uncertainty, was finding those numbers. F= (100,000 to 195,000 metric tons) × (7.8 mph - 2.5 mph) / 38 seconds mass acceleration F= (100,000 to 195,000 metric tons) × (7.8 mph - 2.5 mph) / 38 seconds mass acceleration For the actual calculation, we used metric units. We tried one more method: using a formula to calculate the ship collision force published by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the industry organization that publishes bridge safety standards.

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Persons: Erin Schaff, Dali, Francis Scott Key, “, ”, Ben Schafer, Nii, Sherif El, Themistoklis Sapsis, Tawil Organizations: The New York Times Force, Empire, Saturn, Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland, University of Michigan, M.I.T, American Association of State, Transportation, U.S . Army Corps, Engineers, Reuters, Sunshine Skyway Locations: Baltimore, Dali, Tampa Bay, Florida