GSC WVDEM02 Demonstration Manual

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Pendulum Wave Demonstration
Warning:
• Not a toy; use only
in a laboratory or
educational setting.
• Contains small parts.
• California Proposition
65 Warning: This
product may contain chemicals known to
the State of California to cause cancer and
birth defects or other reproductive harm.
This product demonstrates an interesting
quirk of pendulums. If arranged so that
each successive pendulum in a line of
pendulums has one more swing per period
than the one before it, a pattern emerges
while they swing. The pendulums, when
released from the same height at the same
time, will start their swing in unison, but
then quickly fall out of sync with each
other. The pendulums will cycle between
being in sync, being in what looks like
chaotic motion, having half swing left
while the other swing right, and returning
to being in sync. The period of this entire
cycle of patterns for our demonstration
lasts roughly 20 seconds.
Though not technically waves, since no
energy is being transmitted from pendulum
to pendulum, the wave-like patterns
created by this demonstration do a great
job visually explaining and exploring the
regularity of the oscillation of pendulums.
#WVDEM02
A pendulum is any weight suspended from a pivot. When moved
from its resting position at equilibrium, the force of gravity acts as a
restoring force, causing the mass of the pendulum to oscillate back
and forth around its rest position. A period refers to how long it takes
the pendulum to complete one swing back and forth. The following
formula can be used to calculate the period of a pendulum:
1

Introduction

• T = Period (s)
• L = Length (m)
• x = Gravity (m/s )
2