Cool Pendulum

Physics Behind It

A pendulum is an object hung from a fixed point that swings back and forth

under the action of gravity. The lengths of each pendulum is related to the one

next to it in a way that after a certain number of swings, they are back in phase

with each other.

The reason they swing at different speeds is because the velocity

depends on the length of the pendulum. It is based off of the formula

V= d/t

Velocity equals distance/length over time.

Materials

You will need:

1. 15 fishing bobbers

2. Some fishing string or regular string

3. Some pvc or anything that you can hang things from

4. Scissors to cut the string

5. A ruler or tape measure

6. A drill

7. And spray paint if you want

Procedure

1. Cut the pvc to the size you want

2. Drill 30 small holes

3. Cut the string to the correct size

4. Feed the string through the drill holes

5. Attach the bobbers onto the string

6. Then get a long piece of wood hold them up and let go

7. Watch it

Results

This device shows a hypnotic effect by having a series of pendula with increasing time periods so that when they are simultaneously released, they produce the effect of a wave. The wave in this case diminishes in wavelength, then looks very chaotic, then comes back to the straight line from which it started.