Golden Gate Bridge

When I was in middle school, I was given a writing assignment. The theme: bridges. We could write anything we wanted, as it pertained to that theme, be it fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. I chose to create a piece of realistic fiction. In my story, construction on the Golden Gate Bridge had just been completed. One of the first people to walk across the bridge was my main character, the widow of a construction worker who had been killed while working on the bridge. As she crossed the bridge in rememberence of her husband, she reflected on the implications of building such a bridge. Would she ever be able to look at it without remembering the sacrifice that she and her family had made to allow its creation? Would the bridge prove to be a blessing or a curse? When I was writing that story, I became fascinated with the Golden Gate Bridge. I'd only ever seen it in pictures, but I thought it was beautiful. I made it my goal to visit it someday, and maybe hopefully even walk across it. Thanks to this trip, I was able to do this.

On Tuesday afternoon, the group walked across the Golden Gate Bridge, about 3 miles. We walked past other tourists taking pictures, past runners going on their daily jog, and past cars and buses returning people to their homes on each side of the bay. Throughout the entire walk, I kept getting overwhelmed by the beauty of the bay. I could see the city of San Francisco in the distance, and Alcatraz Island, and Angel Island. I'd always thought that the real bridge couldn't possibly be as pretty as the pictures that I'd seen, but I was wrong. Everything was even more beautiful and wonderful than the pictures. Even though the walk was long, I was practically skipping the entire time.

"I really loved seeing the Golden Gate Bridge! It is truly magnificent and I enjoyed learning some of the physics behind it." - Madeline Seagle

"The Golden Gate Bridge was even more stunning than I had imagined, with 360 degree views. Every inch of the 3.2 mile walk was completely worth it." - Sophie Walton

An interesting note about the bridge: the two towers that can be seen are there for the purpose of supporting the steel cables that support the bridge. As the towers increase in height, the angle between the tower and the steel cable at the top decreases. The decreased angle in turn decreases the amount of force needed to support the bridge, meaning the steel cables do not need to be nearly as strong. In a nutshell, tall towers equal thinner cables, while short towers equal thicker cables.

From left to right: Margaux Winter, Sophie Walton, Madeline Seagle, Ayanna Webster, Sydney Hafner, Adila Islam, Anna Margaret Clyburn, Carrington Metts. The city of San Francisco can be seen in the background. Photo credits: Ms. Stefan

Carrington Metts with Ms. Stefan in front of the bridge before walking.

View upon beginning the walk across the bridge. Photo credits: Carrington Metts

View of the bridge at sunset from the San Francisco side. Photo credits: Ms. Stefan

Explanations of the physics of the bridge. The diagram on the left outlines the physics of the bridge. The picture on the right shows an interactive model of three suspension bridges with towers of varying heights. Users could pull on the cords to raise the bridge. The bridge with the shortest towers required the most force in order to raise the bridge.