Zinc creep in the cable spelter sockets brought down the 57 year old Arecibo telescope in 2020
Summary
Long-term zinc creep in cable spelter sockets caused the 2020 collapse of the NSF’s 57-year-old Arecibo telescope. A National Academies report traces the failure to hurricane-induced damage, documents the first long-term zinc creep case in a century, and discusses an electroplasticity hypothesis, with recommendations for monitoring and maintenance of critical facilities.