English

Simple Pendulums in Simple Harmonic motion

Classical Physics 2026-05-26 v1

Abstract

The motion of a simple pendulum in a uniform gravitational field can be described by the solution of a second-order differential equation, nonlinear differential equation. In practice we solve this equation using the small angle approximation relying on students familiarity with simple harmonic motion. This paper presents a straightforward method of finding the time equation of motion of a simple pendulum for small angular amplitudes, without having any recourse to solving the differential equation that governs its oscillations. This method relies on finding the indefinite integral of a certain relation derived from the conservation of mechanical energy of the system (Pendulum-Earth). And shows no need to the mathematical complexities in which differential equations are involved.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2605.24708,
  title  = {Simple Pendulums in Simple Harmonic motion},
  author = {Adel H. Alameh},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2605.24708},
  year   = {2026}
}