Abstract
Data from storms suggest that the critical wind speed at which trees break is constant (), regardless of tree characteristics. We question the physical origin of this observation both experimentally and theoretically. By combining Hooke's law, Griffith's criterion, and tree allometry, we show that the critical wind speed indeed hardly depends on the height, diameter, and elastic properties of trees.
1 More- Received 20 September 2015
- Revised 5 October 2015
- Corrected 17 November 2016
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.93.023001
©2016 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Corrections
17 November 2016
Erratum
Publisher's Note: Critical wind speed at which trees break [Phys. Rev. E 93, 023001 (2016)]
E. Virot, A. Ponomarenko, É. Dehandschoewercker, D. Quéré, and C. Clanet
Phys. Rev. E 94, 059907 (2016)
Synopsis
Trees Crumbling in the Wind
Published 2 February 2016
Lab experiments with wooden rods help explain why all trees—irrespective of size or species—break when battered by wind blowing at the same critical speed.
See more in Physics