Re: Pendulum acceleration

[Herb Schulz <herbs@INTERACCESS.COM>]

> Since gravity is what causes a pendulum to move,
> neglecting air friction and differences in direction etc.,
> will the bob experience the same magnitude of
> acceleration though out it swing.  I want to know if the
> change in speed is the same. Part of me says of course it
> is, but a smaller part wants to say the acceleration is
> greater at the bottom than at the top. I not sure my
> equipment is sensitive to detect those differences.

Howdy,

It is NOT gravity that causes a pendulum to swing; in the small angle
approximation, it's the horizontal component of the tension in the
string that makes the pendulum oscillate.

Good Luck,
--
Herb Schulz
(herbs@interaccess.com)