A basic pendulum is a mass at the end of a string that swings back and forth. It seems simple, and it appears in most introductory physics textbooks. But it's not a trivial problem to solve for the ...

This is a requested post. Clearly, I do requests. The idea here is that I am going to give all the details needed to determine the equation of motion (and then model it) for a basic pendulum. Warning: ...

Nudge something away from where it was at rest, and often it will push back. And then overshoot. From atoms to bridges to wheeled luggage, much of the world is in simple harmonic motion Yesterday my ...

A physical pendulum undergoes simple harmonic motion when displaced by a small angle. The oscillations are no longer simple harmonic motion when it is released from a large angle. The pendulum's pivot ...

The Foucault Pendulum illustrates the rotation of the earth. It is not constrained to stay in a fixed plane like a clock pendulum, but instead its ordinary pendulum motion is free to change direction ...

Introduction Did you know that playground swings can provide a good lesson in physics—as well as lots of fun? The back-and-forth motion of a swing is an example of a pendulum. We see pendulums in ...

In a grandfather clock, a pendulum swings back and forth and this periodic motion is maintained using the energy stored in its suspended weights. This is done with the help of the escapement mechanism ...