MEL Chemistry | The pendulum artist @melchemistry7035 | Uploaded September 2019 | Updated October 2024, 11 hours ago.
Pendulums can be artists too!
Equipment: string, bottle, paint, paper, foam rubber, awl, clamp, crossbar, water, food coloring.
Cut a bottle in half. Use an awl to bore two holes in the top half and pass a string through them. Additionally, bore a hole in the cap. Attach a clamp to the string and tie the string to a straight horizontal crossbar. The clamp divides the system into two sections. The upper section can swing only in one direction, while the lower section can swing in all directions. Use a sheet of foam rubber as a canvas. Pull the pendulum to one side, add some tinted water, and let go. This will result in symmetrical patterns. You can change the type of pattern the pendulum creates by adjusting the position of the clamp.
As a pendulum is a load suspended at a point, it can swing freely in all directions. But if the suspension point itself can oscillate, the trajectory of such a composite pendulum can create stunning patterns. The result is a pendulum that simultaneously performs two harmonic oscillations. The trajectories of such a pendulum are called Lissajous figures. The type of trajectory is determined by the ratio of the periods of oscillations of the upper and lower parts of the pendulum. If this ratio is an integer, the trajectories will be closed. You can use something like this to create abstractionist pictures. Science is art!
Safety precautions: none.
Pendulums can be artists too!
Equipment: string, bottle, paint, paper, foam rubber, awl, clamp, crossbar, water, food coloring.
Cut a bottle in half. Use an awl to bore two holes in the top half and pass a string through them. Additionally, bore a hole in the cap. Attach a clamp to the string and tie the string to a straight horizontal crossbar. The clamp divides the system into two sections. The upper section can swing only in one direction, while the lower section can swing in all directions. Use a sheet of foam rubber as a canvas. Pull the pendulum to one side, add some tinted water, and let go. This will result in symmetrical patterns. You can change the type of pattern the pendulum creates by adjusting the position of the clamp.
As a pendulum is a load suspended at a point, it can swing freely in all directions. But if the suspension point itself can oscillate, the trajectory of such a composite pendulum can create stunning patterns. The result is a pendulum that simultaneously performs two harmonic oscillations. The trajectories of such a pendulum are called Lissajous figures. The type of trajectory is determined by the ratio of the periods of oscillations of the upper and lower parts of the pendulum. If this ratio is an integer, the trajectories will be closed. You can use something like this to create abstractionist pictures. Science is art!
Safety precautions: none.
