physical pendulum

(noun)

A pendulum where the rod or string is not massless, and may have extended size; that is, an arbitrarily-shaped, rigid body swinging by a pivot. In this case, the pendulum's period depends on its moment of inertia around the pivot point.

Related Terms

Examples of physical pendulum in the following topics:

  • The Physical Pendulum

    • The period of a physical pendulum depends upon its moment of inertia about its pivot point and the distance from its center of mass.
    • In case we know the moment of inertia of the rigid body, we can evaluate the above expression of the period for the physical pendulum.
    • As with a simple pendulum, a physical pendulum can be used to measure g.
    • A brief introduction to pendulums (both ideal and physical) for calculus-based physics students from the standpoint of simple harmonic motion.
    • This is another example of a physical pendulum.

  • The Simple Pendulum

    • Example:Measuring Acceleration due to Gravity: The Period of a Pendulum.What is the acceleration due to gravity in a region where a simple pendulum having a length 75.000 cm has a period of 1.7357 sStrategy: We are asked to find g given the period T and the length L of a pendulum.
    • For the simple pendulum:
    • or the period of a simple pendulum.
    • Even simple pendulum clocks can be finely adjusted and accurate.
    • A brief introduction to pendulums (both ideal and physical) for calculus-based physics students from the standpoint of simple harmonic motion.

  • Energy Transformations

    • For example, imagine a pendulum in a vacuum.
    • However, when the pendulum is at its lowest point, all of its energy exists in the form of kinetic energy.
    • This animation shows the velocity and acceleration vectors for a pendulum.
    • One may note that at the maximum height of the pendulum's mass, the velocity is zero.
    • This corresponds to zero kinetic energy and thus all of the energy of the pendulum is in the form of potential energy.

  • Back EMF, Eddy Currents, and Magnetic Damping

    • Consider the apparatus shown in , which swings a pendulum bob between the poles of a strong magnet.
    • A common physics demonstration device for exploring eddy currents and magnetic damping.
    • (a) The motion of a metal pendulum bob swinging between the poles of a magnet is quickly damped by the action of eddy currents.

  • Introduction to Simple Harmonic Motion

    • My favorite is Feynman's Lectures on Physics).
    • Lots of physics is linear.
    • For instance, the motion of a plane pendulum of length $\ell$ (Figure 1.1) is governed by
    • So for small displacements, the equation for the pendulum is:
    • Thus the equation of motion for the pendulum is linear in $\theta$ when $\theta$ is small.

  • Time

    • Time is the fundamental physical quantity of duration and is measured by the SI Unit known as the second.
    • Time is one of the seven fundamental physical quantities in the International System (SI) of Units.
    • For example, the movement of the sun across the sky, the phases of the moon, the swing of a pendulum, and the beat of a heart have all been used as a standard for time keeping.

  • Projecting Vectors Onto Other Vectors

    • We did this, in effect, when we computed the tangential force of gravity on a simple pendulum.

  • Energy in a Simple Harmonic Oscillator

    • For example, for a simple pendulum we replace the velocity with v=Lω, the spring constant with k=mg/L, and the displacement term with x=Lθ.
    • A similar calculation for the simple pendulum produces a similar result, namely:

  • Other Forms of Energy

    • Elastic Energy: This is potential mechanical energy that is stored in the configuration of a material or physical system as work is performed to distort its volume or shape.
    • An example of something that utilizes mechanical energy is a pendulum.
    • A brief overview of energy, kinetic energy, gravitational potential energy, and the work-energy theorem for algebra-based physics students.

  • Simple Harmonic Motion

    • In addition, other phenomena can be approximated by simple harmonic motion, such as the motion of a simple pendulum, or molecular vibration.
    • Each of these constants carries a physical meaning of the motion: A is the amplitude (maximum displacement from the equilibrium position), ω = 2πf is the angular frequency, and φ is the phase.
    • A brief introduction to simple harmonic motion for calculus-based physics students.