McGlynn, Enda ORCID: 0000-0002-3412-9035, Saracut, C. and Cafolla, A.A.
(2024)
Stabilisation of the swing pattern of an anisotropic simple pendulum.
European Journal of Physics, 45
(5).
055003-1-055003-12.
ISSN 1361-6404
Abstract
The suppression of the effects of anisotropy on a pendulum by use of a rotating mount was initially envisaged by Léon Foucault, based on his observations of the vibrations of a rod clamped in a lathe. However, the method seems to never have been tried due to the practical difficulties involved. We report a computational study of the stabilisation of the swing pattern of a simple pendulum, showing anisotropic behaviour in a static configuration, by rotation of the system mount. When the mount is static, for most initial conditions the swing patterns quickly evolves into unstable, complex Lissajous-like patterns. When the pendulum mount is rotated faster than the pendulum frequency effects of anisotropy are suppressed, and the swing pattern stabilises to that of an isotropic 3D simple pendulum. Suppression of mount anisotropy influence occurs for relatively low rotation rates. We also study swing evolution in the presence of random variations in the orientation of the mount principal axes. The use of computational techniques confirms Foucault's original observations and hypothesis and provides an interesting avenue for students to engage meaningfully with this historically important and inspiring experiment in a novel and challenging manner.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article (Published) |
---|---|
Refereed: | Yes |
Uncontrolled Keywords: | swing, anisotropic, simple, pendulums, Foucault, stabilisation |
Subjects: | Computer Science > Computer simulation Physical Sciences > Physics Physical Sciences > Physics education Mathematics > Mechanics Mathematics > Numerical analysis |
DCU Faculties and Centres: | DCU Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science and Health > School of Physical Sciences Research Institutes and Centres > National Centre for Plasma Science and Technology (NCPST) Research Institutes and Centres > National Centre for Sensor Research (NCSR) |
Publisher: | Institute of Physics Publishing Ltd. |
Official URL: | https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-64... |
Copyright Information: | Authors |
ID Code: | 30193 |
Deposited On: | 06 Aug 2024 09:59 by Enda Mcglynn . Last Modified 06 Aug 2024 09:59 |
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