Lind Hall Foucault Pendulum Repair

Document Type

Oral Presentation

Campus where you would like to present

SURC Ballroom A

Start Date

17-5-2012

End Date

17-5-2012

Abstract

Lind Hall is one of the older buildings on campus and was built with a Foucault pendulum as the centerpiece feature. A Foucault pendulum demonstrates the earth’s rotation by constantly changing direction of its apparent swing. The Foucault pendulum in Lind Hall has not been operating since 2004. A group from the CWU Society of Physics Students has been attempting to fix the pendulum over the past two years. The effort has encountered multiple problems which we have attempted to address. Originally it was believed that the only issue was a malfunctioning drive circuit, but once the electronics for the drive were repaired it became apparent that there are other underlying issues. The pendulum has a tendency to develop an elliptical swing and does not precess as predicted due to the earth’s rotation. We will report on our efforts and the documentation.

Poster Number

4

Faculty Mentor(s)

Michael Braunstein

Additional Mentoring Department

Physics

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May 17th, 11:15 AM May 17th, 1:45 PM

Lind Hall Foucault Pendulum Repair

SURC Ballroom A

Lind Hall is one of the older buildings on campus and was built with a Foucault pendulum as the centerpiece feature. A Foucault pendulum demonstrates the earth’s rotation by constantly changing direction of its apparent swing. The Foucault pendulum in Lind Hall has not been operating since 2004. A group from the CWU Society of Physics Students has been attempting to fix the pendulum over the past two years. The effort has encountered multiple problems which we have attempted to address. Originally it was believed that the only issue was a malfunctioning drive circuit, but once the electronics for the drive were repaired it became apparent that there are other underlying issues. The pendulum has a tendency to develop an elliptical swing and does not precess as predicted due to the earth’s rotation. We will report on our efforts and the documentation.