Should the wires used to support a suspension bridge be elastic or inelastic?
I think the first answer says that “Yes, you want the wire to be elastic.” The problem lies in the degree of elasticity. You want just enough to allow the cable system to function over a range of conditions but not be too elastic so the system fails. On the other hand, if there were no elasticity, then the system would be brittle, non spring like and fail.
