26th Nov

9am
The rustic simplicity of the Science Shack shed stands in stark contrast to the awe-inspiring bulk of the Tate Modern Gallery. Producer Marty looks forward to ‘getting the show on the road’.

10am
Adam Hart-Davis lends the Science Shack team a hand, as they kick-start the power generator to provide electricity to light the shed. Does it really take four men to press one switch?

Lynda and Ruth are sticking plastic drinking straws together, building a metaphorical ‘Wobbly Bridge’ which will later demonstrate the fragility of Man’s ‘designs’ on the millennium.

10.30am
Jem gives one of his rare (short) interviews. He proudly displays his most recent oeuvre (‘drawings for the building of a scaffolding platform to do the Millenium Bridge Experiment on 2001’). He explains these are only photocopies because the originals were taken from him, free of charge, by the curator of the Tate Modern, who needed to clear them with the site manager. Jem tells us that he was impressed by the understated way the curator did this ‘art deal’ with him and looks forward to an exhibition of his works at the Tate Modern.

1.30pm
Lynda and Ruth’s Straw Bridge gets its TV debut as Adam explains the theory behind this week’s experiments. Their handiwork is a scale model (or rather an artistic interpretation - well we are at the Tate!) of the “Science Shack Millennium Bridge Simulator” or “Scaffold Bridge”. Adam and the team will be looking at the sideways movement of Millennium Bridge and how people’s footsteps affect the “wobble”.

2pm
Our scaffolder friends have got the Science Shack Millennium Bridge Simulator Wobbling. The movement increases as more weight is put from one foot to another in a rhythm. It’s a bit like those playground rockers you used to play on that you could push back and forward to gain momentum.

3pm
The theory the team are testing is that the more weight you put on at each sideways “swing” the more wobbly the bridge becomes. The question is: do people naturally, subconsciously, start to walk ‘in sympathy’ together (in step) when they are massed together? Could the effect of such rhythmic walking set up a swing in the bridge which is exaggerated by this rhythm? Adam ropes in some volunteers to test the theory. The results show that human beings do, indeed, tend to walk in rhythm together.

4pm
Adam explains ‘resonance’. In this example he shows that each of these poles has its own resonance (based on their length). If you very gently wobble the base (mounted on a roller system) the tallest pole starts to swing like crazy. A little faster and just the middle pole moves. Faster still and the short one moves. When the movement starts to be in sympathy with the natural resonance of each length of pole the swinging begins. So, if people walking in step ‘en masse’ across the Millennium Bridge happen to hit the natural resonance of the bridge wobble occurs.

4.30pm
Adam is not only a master of verbal communication skills. He is also able to ‘speak’ through gestures. Using the rubber balls from the experiment before, he makes a sign, meaning ‘I have not been given enough lunch and I am looking forward to my tea’.

5pm
Adam eyes the baked beans longingly, but manages to concentrate on explaining the pendulum principal. Which is that whatever the weight of the pendulum load its rate of swing is constant. It is only by changing the length of the string that you can change the swing rate. This he tests by setting two very differently weighted bean cans swinging together with the same length of string.

6pm
You heard it here first – a half plastic bottle with olive oil in it is the solution to the Millennium Bridge wobble. This is one kind of damper that can break down the effect of the resonance set up by lots of people walking across the Millennium Bridge. By adjusting the viscosity in the oil or by changing the size of the spoon or paddle you can counteract the resonance to any degree you want.

7.30pm
Filming in the winter is always a race because the days are so short. But the Science shack team have overcome this by having their own mobile studio – the Shack – parked outside the Tate Modern.

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