Crashes and collapses

Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1: History And Guiding Principles Of Forensic Engineering Science -- Archimedes (287-212 Bce): Einstein And Edison In Ancient Greece -- Units Systems And Dimensions -- Richard B Feynman Meets The Challenger Commission -- Resolving Legal Disputes -- Mechanics Of Modern Law -- Modern Civil And Criminal Trials -- Confusion About Verdicts -- Eyewitnesses And The Harm That They Can Do -- 2: Accident Reconstruction: Getting Started -- Hit-and-run -- Perception-reaction Time -- Placing The Hit-and-run Vehicle -- Back To Basics -- Galileo Galilei (1564-1642): One Of Newton’s Giants -- Dimensions And Acceleration -- Velocity -- Mass -- Coefficient Of Friction -- Measuring The Coefficient Of Friction -- Static Versus Sliding Friction And Antilock Brake Systems -- Summing Up -- 3: Accident Reconstruction: Moving Into High Gear -- How To Read Equations -- Smart Car Mystery -- Total Stations -- Fall Formula -- More Dimensions -- Applications Of The Fall Formula -- More Newton’s Laws -- Newton’s Third Law -- Conservation Of Momentum -- Energy And Conservation Of Energy -- Work -- Revisiting The Skid-to-a-stop Formula -- Revisiting The Smart Car Case -- Signature Marks -- Electric-light Filaments And What They Record -- Black Boxes And What They Record -- 4: Speed From Critical-speed Scuffs -- Inertial Force: Linear Effects -- Inertial Forces: Circular Effects -- Centripetal Acceleration -- Confirmation Of Universal Gravitation -- Critical-speed-scuff Formula -- Applying The Critical-speed Formula -- Measuring The Radius Of Curvature -- Key Assumption Revealed -- 5: Murder Poorly Disguised As An Accident -- Fire In The Ditch -- Prejudice In Forensic Investigation -- Investigation -- Murder -- Vehicle Acceleration -- Ignition Tests -- Forensic Reenactments -- Spark Plugs And Induction -- Second Crash Test -- Results And Conclusions -- Limitations Of Conclusions -- 6: Subway Stop -- Man On The Tracks -- Investigation -- Field Of Vision -- Conspicuity -- Stopping A Train -- Test Stops And Fuzzy Data -- Unfuzzing The Data -- Precision,Rounding,And Truncating -- Time-distance Analysis -- Operator’s Way Out -- Concluding Comments -- Candor In Analysis -- 7: Grounding Of The Merchant Vessel Tamano -- Archimedes’ Equilibrium -- Pressure And Hydrostatics -- Creating A Water Cushion -- Fuel Delivery -- 8: Crane Collapse -- Crane Collapses -- Force Moments And Stability -- Solution -- Hydraulics -- Workers’ Compensation -- 9: Scaffolding Collapse -- Accident -- Wrongful-death Claim And Response -- Facts -- Plaintiffs’ Burden -- Analysis -- Ways The Wind Can Blow -- Putting In Numbers -- Force Of Wind -- Lawyerly Strategy And Its Deflection -- Looking At It From The Other End -- Power -- What Lifted It -- Seeing The Cables As Springs Solves The Problem -- Springs And The Law Of Hooke -- 10: Bringing It All Together -- World Trade Center Collapse -- Collapse Of Texas Tower Number Four -- Lessons Too Hard To Learn -- March 2008 C