“Swifties” make the earth vibrate in Zurich
Published: Wednesday, Jul 10th 2024, 09:30
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The "Swifties" at the Taylor Swift concert on Tuesday caused the ground in Zurich to move: Their dancing and jumping caused so-called seismic tremors. They were measurable up to a distance of six kilometers.
The Swiss Seismological Service's seismometers were at their strongest shortly after 7pm: Taylor Swift took to the stage at Letzigrund and immediately got the 50,000 or so fans jumping and dancing.
During the course of the concert, there were always clear swings - depending on the song. These were naturally stronger during their hit "Shake it off" than during a slower song.
Measurable at eight stations
As the earthquake service writes on its website, the energy of the rhythmic movements is transmitted into the ground as "harmonic vibrations". This can be measured by nearby seismometers. In the case of the Taylor Swift concert, the vibrations were measurable at eight stations up to a distance of six kilometers around the Letzigrund Stadium.
Further away, they were lost in the background noise of vibrations caused by traffic, construction work, blasting in quarries or sea movements.
However, "Swifties" are not the only ones to shake the earth: Other major concerts such as Metallica, who performed at the Letzigrund in 2019, also caused tremors. Football matches with cheering fans can also trigger this effect.
©Keystone/SDA
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