I've heard them described as a very thin ribbon, in which case it would be (thousands of tons of) material wafting down like paper, not a heavy cable slamming i

I've heard them described as a very thin ribbon, in which case it would be (thousands of tons of) material wafting down like paper, not a heavy cable slamming into the ground and crushing buildings. I don't know if that describes the standard design, or just one particular one.