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Re: [Phys-L] pendulum ideas



On 8/30/21 8:00 PM, Anthony Lapinski wrote:

I teach high school physics and have done the typical pendulum lab
where kids vary the mass, length, and swing angle. They can plot
period vs length and determine the length of a pendulum with a period
of one second. Etc. Fairly simple, but I want to make it more
interesting (if possible). Have any of you tried extensions of this
activity -- where kids can take measurements -- to make it more
relevant?

How about the classic *interrupted* pendulum????
This is truly a classic, having been published in 1638 by some guy
named Galileo. At the time, it dropped some hints about conservation
of energy, many decades before the modern concept of energy came
along.

The same line of reasoning has practical application in aerobatic
maneuvering.
https://www.av8n.com/physics/loop-de-loop.htm

If you're googling for it, the more conventional name is "stopped"
pendulum, although for other purposes that name can be confusing.