Uploaded December 2015 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Suspended from a single, slender thread, two torsion pendulums share a delicate dance of motion and magnetism. The upper pendulum, built from LEGO components, offers a lightweight, modular structure that responds fluidly to torsional forces. Below it, the second pendulum carries a diametrically polarized neodymium ring magnet—its magnetic field poised to interact with the circuit below.
Thread tension is carefully maintained by a 170 g weight at the base, ensuring consistent oscillatory behavior across both pendulums. But the true choreography begins with the driver: a bistable multivibrator circuit, pulsing through air-core bifilar coils. As the lower pendulum swings, its embedded magnet triggers the circuit, initiating a feedback loop of magnetic interaction and electronic switching. This interplay sustains motion, transforming a passive mechanical system into a self-driven oscillator.
This coupled electromechanical system sustains torsional oscillations through magnetic triggering and bistable switching, exhibiting nonlinear dynamics and magnetic feedback. Its synchronized motion is shaped by initial conditions, with sensitivity to phase relationships and amplitude-dependent behavior emerging over time..
Explore additional devices driven by electronic circuits—including spinning tops, pendulums, and clock escapements—on this playlist:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCbYhDNjOviH74SJ1D5qCaCZQG2uldAmU
#legoescapement #LegoClockMechanism #torsionpendulum #whirligig #torsionpendulum #ClockEscapement #CoupledOscillators #simpleharmonicmotion #whirligig
Suspended from a single, slender thread, two torsion pendulums share a delicate dance of motion and magnetism. The upper pendulum, built from LEGO components, offers a lightweight, modular structure that responds fluidly to torsional forces. Below it, the second pendulum carries a diametrically polarized neodymium ring magnet—its magnetic field poised to interact with the circuit below.
Thread tension is carefully maintained by a 170 g weight at the base, ensuring consistent oscillatory behavior across both pendulums. But the true choreography begins with the driver: a bistable multivibrator circuit, pulsing through air-core bifilar coils. As the lower pendulum swings, its embedded magnet triggers the circuit, initiating a feedback loop of magnetic interaction and electronic switching. This interplay sustains motion, transforming a passive mechanical system into a self-driven oscillator.
This coupled electromechanical system sustains torsional oscillations through magnetic triggering and bistable switching, exhibiting nonlinear dynamics and magnetic feedback. Its synchronized motion is shaped by initial conditions, with sensitivity to phase relationships and amplitude-dependent behavior emerging over time..
Explore additional devices driven by electronic circuits—including spinning tops, pendulums, and clock escapements—on this playlist:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCbYhDNjOviH74SJ1D5qCaCZQG2uldAmU
#legoescapement #LegoClockMechanism #torsionpendulum #whirligig #torsionpendulum #ClockEscapement #CoupledOscillators #simpleharmonicmotion #whirligig
