Related papers: Thinking Hard About Physics Before Calculating: An…
The period of oscillation of a simple pendulum ($T = 2\pi\sqrt{l/g}$) is a familiar formula to the average first-year physics student. However, deriving this expression from first principles involves solving a non-linear differential…
Pendulums have long fascinated humans ever since Galileo theorized that they are isochronic with regards to their swing. While this simplification is useful in the case of small-angle pendulums due to the accuracy of the small-angle…
In the course of basic physics, more precisely the course of classical mechanics should be understood as clearly as possible the subject of rotational dynamics for students of science and engineering, to have clarity with the issues…
A physical pendulum with variable point of suspension (and, as an outcome, variable inertia moment) is experimentally analysed. In particular, the period of the small oscillations as a function of position of the suspension point is…
A simple approximation formula is derived here for the dependence of the period of a simple pendulum on amplitude that only requires a pocket calculator and furnishes an error of less than 0.25% with respect to the exact period. It is shown…
The looping pendulum is a simple physical system consisting of two masses connected by a string that passes over a rod. We derive equations of motion for the looping pendulum using Newtonian mechanics, and show that these equations can be…
We have designed, built and operated a physical pendulum which allows one to demonstrate experimentally the behaviour of the pendulum under any equation of motion for such a device for any initial conditions. All parameters in the equation…
Dynamic behavior of a weightless rod with a point mass sliding along the rod axis according to periodic law is studied. This is the pendulum with periodically varying length which is also treated as a simple model of child's swing.…
A generalization of the classical Kapitza pendulum is considered: an inverted planar mathematical pendulum with a vertically vibrating pivot point in a time-periodic horizontal force field. We study the existence of forced oscillations in…
The study of the motion of a rigid body on a plane (RBP motion) is usually one of the most challenging topics that students face in introductory physics courses. In this paper, we discuss a couple of problems which are typically used in…
The oscillation periods bounded by a simple pendulum and an oscillating rigid rod are illustrated using a multiple pendulum. Oscillation periods between these two limits are obtained. A theoretical approach using the Lagrangian formalism…
In this paper we deal with the care one must have in adopting approximations in regard with terms he chooses to leave behind in the particular case of the expression valid for the maximum period of a long pendulum oscillating near Earth's…
A compound pendulum of simple geometry was built from a lightweight rod to which a pair of masses are clamped, one above and the other below the axis of rotation. By making the position of the upper mass variable, it was found that the…
A liquid meniscus, a bending rod (also called elastica) and a simple pendulum are all described by the same non-dimensional equation. The oscillatory regime of the pendulum corresponds to buckling rods and pendant drops, and the…
We present an experimental setup to demonstrate normal modes and symmetry breaking in a two-dimensional pendulum. In our experiment we have used two modes of a single oscillator to demonstrate normal modes, as opposed to two single…
The main task of an introductory laboratory course is to foster students' manual, conceptual and statistical ability to investigate physical phenomena. Needing very simple apparatus, pendulum experiments are an ideal starting point in our…
The classic simple pendulum is a device which works as a simple harmonic oscillator (S.H.M.) only approximately. The time period remains fixed as long as the amplitude is kept sufficiently small. This limitation makes it unsatisfactory…
A heuristic but pedagogical derivation is given of an explicit formula which accurately reproduces the period of a simple pendulum even for large amplitudes. The formula is compared with others in the literature.
We consider the period of a simple pendulum in the gravitational field of the spherical Earth. Effectively, gravity is enhanced compared with the often used flat Earth approximation, such that the period of the pendulum is shortened. We…
A Swinging Atwood Machine (SAM) is built and some experimental results concerning its dynamic behaviour are presented. Experiments clearly show that pulleys play a role in the motion of the pendulum, since they can rotate and have…