Grandpa Fenn's Workshop
The Pendulum
Something in the corner of the workshop keeps swinging. Grandpa says it is the steadiest clock he owns. Poppy wants to know what makes it swing at the same speed every time.
Grandpa Fenn's Workshop
Something in the corner of the workshop keeps swinging. Grandpa says it is the steadiest clock he owns. Poppy wants to know what makes it swing at the same speed every time.
Pick a string. Pull the bob back and let go. Time one swing. Then swap the bob and see if it changes.
Grandpa smiles as the two bobs swing side by side. The string decides the beat. The weight just comes along.
A pendulum is a weight on a string. Gravity pulls it down. The string makes it swing.
The swing takes the same time each trip. Pull it back a little or a lot, and one swing still takes about the same time.
A long string swings slowly. A short string swings fast. That is the only thing that matters. A heavy bob and a light bob on the same string swing together.
Poppy times the swingA pendulum swings back and forth.
Longer string, slower swing.
The weight of the bob does not change the time.
Big word for the day. Period. The time for one full swing.
More machines are waiting on the bench.
Back to the Chain Reaction Bench