Citation

Goldsztein GH. PLoS One 2016; 11(6): e0157675.

Affiliation

School of Mathematics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Public Library of Science)

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0157675

PMID

27304857

Abstract

Consider a person standing on a platform that oscillates laterally, i.e. to the right and left of the person. Assume the platform satisfies Hooke's law. As the platform moves, the person reacts and moves its body attempting to keep its balance. We develop a simple model to study this phenomenon and show that the person, while attempting to keep its balance, may do positive work on the platform and increase the amplitude of its oscillations. The studies in this article are motivated by the oscillations in pedestrian bridges that are sometimes observed when large crowds cross them.

Language: en