Pole vault composite failure analysis

Two MIT students who were themselves pole vaulters did this as their paper topic. Tom holds it up as a good example of focused scope (the pole and how it's made) vs. bad scope (history of pole vaulting). Tom briefly explains the variable-stiffness layered composite.

You could take a technology — one student did Japanese sword-smithing. They used to have a little display in the hallway of these students who had made a Japanese sword on their own. Some students have done the HMS Titanic. Some students from nuclear engineering have done nuclear power plants. A couple of students one year both did pole vaulting. They were both pole vaulters at MIT. Turns out a pole for a pole vaulter — you ever seen them, they bend more than 180 degrees and they don't break. It's because it's a composite material that's layered and has variable stiffness. It's actually very interesting technology.