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 ...

A Foucault pendulum is a simple device for observing the Earth's rotation. While such pendulums have been around for more than 150 years and are a staple of the modern science museum, they are ...

Let's start with a quick calculation. You might need your calculator. What is π squared? Does that number look familiar? Does it look like the local gravitational field on the surface of the Earth, g?

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 ...

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 ...