Wolfram Demonstrations Project

12,000+ Open Interactive Demonstrations
Powered by Notebook Technology »

Foucault's Pendulum

Initializing live version
Download to Desktop

Requires a Wolfram Notebook System

Interact on desktop, mobile and cloud with the free Wolfram Player or other Wolfram Language products.

The pendulum is named after Leon Foucault. The pendulum demonstrates the motion of a mathematical pendulum under the influence of the rotation of the Earth. One of the most popular installations of a real Foucault's pendulum is located at Musée des arts et métiers in Paris, France. The famous philosopher and novelist Umberto Eco wrote a novel named Foucault's Pendulum.

Contributed by: Jens-Peer Kuska (March 2011)
Additional contributions by: Jeff Bryant
Open content licensed under CC BY-NC-SA

Snapshots

Details

The Coriolis force causes the pendulum to change its oscillation plane. On the equator (latitude = 0) the Coriolis force is zero and the pendulum will behave there like an ordinary pendulum. On a pole the Coriolis force attains its maximum. The control for the latitude ranges over [0, π/2].

Embed Code

Take advantage of the Wolfram Notebook Emebedder for the recommended user experience.

Related Demonstrations More by Author
Browse all topics
Feedback (field required)
Email (field required) Name
Occupation Organization
Note: Your message & contact information may be shared with the author of any specific Demonstration for which you give feedback.
Send