Event Title
Foucault Pendulum and Light Ring
Presentation Type
Poster/Portfolio
Presenter Major(s)
Physics
Mentor Information
Ross Reynolds
Department
Physics
Location
Henry Hall Atrium 53
Start Date
11-4-2012 9:00 AM
Keywords
Information, Innovation, and Technology, Physical Science, Technology
Abstract
This experiment was composed of building a Foucault Pendulum that could fit inside a classroom. I constructed a pendulum that hung over a light ring. A phototransistor on the bottom of the bob registered the change in light intensity and started a timer when it passed over the light ring. The timer turned on an electromagnet, which attracted the metal bob to it. This caused the bob to accelerate. The acceleration counteracted the frictional forces that usually slow a pendulum. This system successfully made a perpetual motion pendulum that can demonstrate the rotation of the Earth.
Foucault Pendulum and Light Ring
Henry Hall Atrium 53
This experiment was composed of building a Foucault Pendulum that could fit inside a classroom. I constructed a pendulum that hung over a light ring. A phototransistor on the bottom of the bob registered the change in light intensity and started a timer when it passed over the light ring. The timer turned on an electromagnet, which attracted the metal bob to it. This caused the bob to accelerate. The acceleration counteracted the frictional forces that usually slow a pendulum. This system successfully made a perpetual motion pendulum that can demonstrate the rotation of the Earth.