Term Paper

MECHANICS

PHY104
Topic: - Foucault Pendulum

Submitted To Submitted By
Miss Ruchika Dhawan Atish Kumar
Reg. No.:- 4100070015
Roll No.:- RH5001A53
Class: - B-Tech-Civil (2nd
Year)
 AKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my gratitude to all those who gave me the possibility to
complete this term paper. I want to thank the Department of PHYSICS of LOVELY
PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY for giving me permission to commence this Term
paper, to do the necessary research work and to use departmental data. I would also
like to thank to Miss Ruchika Dhawan, Lecturer in Mechanics, who gave and
confirmed this assignment and encouraged me to go ahead with my term paper.

I am finally thanking of our friends whose help, valuable suggestions and

encouragement helped me in all the time of research for and writing of this term
paper.

THANK YOU.
 CONTENTS
S.N. Description Page No.
1. Introduction 1

2. Reason of calling Foucault Pendulum 2

3. Short history of the pendulum of Foucault 3

4 How does the Foucault Pendulum show that the Earth 3

rotates

5 Work Out The Degrees Of Rotation 5

6 The Rotation Of The Earth Affects Our Lives 6

7 Pendulum Facts 6

8 The direction of rotation 7

9 Scientifically Important 9

10 Foucault pendulum Locate in India 10

9 Reference 11
INTRODUCTION

Foucault's pendulum experiment provides a clear and convincing demonstrates of the rotation
of the earth. However, it is convincing only if it is performed competently and with care, and
it is clear only if the spectator has some understanding of how it is that he rotation of the
earth can affect the swing of a pendulum.

The observer result is that the plane of swing of pendulum changes with time. In the
Northern Hemisphere, the plane of swing moves in the same sense as the hand of a clock
which is face up on the ground, in Southern Hemisphere it moves in the opposite sense. The
rate of rotation of the plane of swing is independent of the period of the pendulum and is such
that the plane goes round once, through 360o, in a time.

T = 24hr/sin Ф

Where Ф is the latitude. That is, the plane of swing would go round in that time pendulum could keep
swinging for so long. At the pole, T=24hr. At the equator, T is infinite: that means that the plane of
swing does not change at all.

Foucault's Pendulum in the Pantheon Paris

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Reason of calling Foucault Pendulum
It is named after Jean Bernard Leon Foucault. He set up such a pendulum in the Pantheon in
Paris in 1851. His pendulum was 220 feet long and weighed 61 pounds. Witnesses were
invited to come and watch the Earth rotate under the pendulum. At the time, the experiment
caused great excitement. Though most people believed the Earth rotated, no one before
Foucault had actually demonstrated it in a direct way.

Jean Bernard Léon Foucault (1819-1868)

 Jean Bernard Leon Foucault, better known under

the name of Leon Foucault, was a French
physicist.

 He Born in Paris on September 18, 1819 as a son

of a bookseller.

 He Died in Paris on February 2, 1868 of paralysis.

 In 1845 he made with Louis Fizeau (1819-1996) the first successful daguerreotype of
the Sun.

 In 1850 he obtained the first accurate determination of the speed of light by using the
rotating mirror technique.

 In 1851 he invented the Foucault pendulum which he used to measure the Earth's
rotation.

 In 1852 he invented his gyroscope.

 In 1857 he improved the mirrors used in telescopes.

The discoveries and inventions of Foucault do not only concern astronomy. He is also known
as the discoverer of the Foucault currents.

These multitudes of inventions, which are spread over two decades, were rewarded by many
honours: “Officier de la Légion d‘Honneur”, member of the Office des Longitudes, foreign
member of Royal Society and the Academies of Berlin and Saint-Petersburg, and finally
member of the Academy des Science in 1865.

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Short history of the pendulum of Foucault

The Foucault pendulum was constructed in 1851 in the cellar of the maternal house, 34 rue
d’Assas in Paris where Leon Foucault had installed his working laboratory. For his first
pendulum he used a small ball of 5kg suspended to a wire of two meters length. The very first
presentation was done in the room “Méridienne” at the Paris observatory. The length of this
pendulum was eleven meters.

However, the first official public demonstration happened in the Pantheon, at the request of
the President of the Republic, Prince Bonaparte. For this great event, Foucault launched the
invitation to come to see ‘turning the Earth’. He used a sphere of 28 kg fixed to a steel wire,
actually a piano cord, having a length of 67 m and a diameter of 1.4 mm. Under the
pendulum was a sand hillock where the pendulum came to chip and leave its changing traces.
Thus common people could easily recognize the rotational movement of the Earth.

How does the Foucault Pendulum show that the Earth rotates
The pendulum swings back and forth in a straight line and knocks down the pegs as the Earth
rotates on its axis. All the pegs are set up each morning and are knocked down in sequence
as they rotate with the Earth under the straight line swing of the pendulum’s path.

More than 200 years before Foucault’s experiment, Galileo stated that if all causes of a
change in motion were removed, a body in motion in a straight line, such as a pendulum,
would remain in motion along the same straight line. Thus, without an external force the
pendulum’s direction will not change.

As air resistance slows the pendulum down, a small magnetic push is carefully given at each
swing by a magnet near the top to keep it swinging. This does not affect the pendulum’s
direction.

If such a pendulum were set up at the North Pole, the Earth would turn eastward (counter
clockwise), completely around under it, in one day. From the moving Earth the pendulum
would appear to move clockwise. At the Equator a pendulum swinging parallel to the Earth’s
axis would remain swinging in the same direction. The same would be true for any direction
it was set swinging at the Equator: it would not appear to turn at all with respect to the Earth.
At our latitude (37.5°N), the pendulum will appear to turn less than at the North Pole and
more than at the Equator.

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IF THE PENDULUM WAS AT THE POLE

The floor would twist under the pendulum -- the building floor would twist around the earth's
axis every 24 hours. The pendulum --which doesn't twist-- would stay in its original plane.

IF THE PENDULUM WAS AT THE EQUATOR

The building floor would not twist at all but the building would travel eastward on the earth's
axis

The pendulum--being tied to the building -- would travel right along with the building with
no visible effect -- since there is no twisting motion.

WHAT HAPPENS AT POINTS BETWEEN THE POLE AND EQUATOR

SOME TWISTING SOME TRAVELLING the amount of twist being made visible by the
pendulum, but the amount of travel cannot be seen.

The amount of twisting motion of the building floor around the earth's axis varies with the
latitude but is less than a Pole. The pendulum does not share this motion and therefore lags
behind the floor -- and this can be seen. But the travelling motion of the pendulum eastward
with the building is slower than the Equator -- but this you cannot see! That's why the
pendulum lags behind only the twisting part of the floor's rotation and hence only loses part
of the full circle to it in 24 hours.

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WORK OUT THE DEGREES OF ROTATION
How do you figure out the number of degrees of rotation of the earth beneath the pendulum
in 24 hours

The number of degrees of a circle that the earth will "twist" “rotate” under a pendulum in 24
hours at any given latitude (n) may be determined by the following formula:

n = 360 x sin of the latitude

Example

Latitude - California Academy of Sciences = 37° 46.2'

Sin Latitude = .6125
n = 220.5° in 24 hours
1 Revolution = 39.18 hrs.

A pendulum at the following places would appear to process (change direction)

different amounts with respect to the Earth in one day.

Degrees turned

LOCATION LATITUDE DIRECTION IN 24 HOURS

North Pole 90.0°N clockwise 360°
India 28.36°N clockwise 171°
USA 38.53°N clockwise 224°
Equator 0.0°N — 0

An Example

Suppose we imagine three pendulums, each swinging along the same meridian (a north –
south line).

Two Hours Later

• The Earth has turned 30° (1/12 of 360°).

• The pendulum at the North Pole is still swinging in the same direction, but appears to have
turned 30°.

• The pendulum at the Equator is swinging parallel to its original direction, and does not
appear to have changed direction at all.

• The pendulum at India is still swinging parallel to its original direction, but appears to have
turned 14°.

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THE ROTATION OF THE EARTH AFFECTS OUR LIVES

IN PLANE FLIGHT

Navigators must allow for deviation to right when flying in Northern Hemisphere -- and to
left in Southern Hemisphere.

IN SPACE FLIGHT

The rotation of the earth creates special problems on flights to and from the moon.

WINDS

Winds created by high to low pressure have a right hand deflection that creates cyclones,
hurricanes and typhoons, in the Northern Hemisphere. The rotation of earth results in wider
distribution of rain over the earth.

If no there were no spin, there would be a steady flow of cool air from pole to equator. The
cool air would be near the surface; as it warmed, the air would gradually rise and flow back
toward the pole, dropping its water content as it again cooled. This would tend to produce
constant rain near the equator and deserts in the northern and southern parts of the world. The
rotation of the earth is helps break up this north-south cycle by introducing an east (or west)
deflection.

PENDULUM FACTS

 Length: 96 feet, 10 inches

 Weight: 235 pounds
 Period: 10.9 seconds
 Length of swing: 11 feet
 Rate of turning: 9.2° per hour or 219° per day
 Number of pegs: 79
 Angle between pegs: 4.56°
 Time between adjacent pegs: 30 minutes (approx.)
 Time between opposite pegs: 15 minutes (approx.)
 Time to knock down all pegs: 19 hours, 43 minutes
 Time for pendulum to turn 360°: 39 hours, 27 minutes

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The direction of rotation

For observers at the Northern hemisphere, the direction of pendulum rotation is clockwise
and for observers at the Southern hemisphere, rotation is opposite in direction. The observed
rotational period of the pendulum (rotation angle of 360°) depends on the latitude.

24 h
Trot 
sin (latitude)

The pendulum located at the poles has a rotational period of 24 h, while at the equator the
effect of rotation is not observed.

At the Centre Universitaire, the rotational period of the pendulum is 31 h 25 min, this
corresponds to a rotation angle of 274° per 24h.

The calculation of the period of oscillation

The pendulum oscillation period T is given by the relation:

l= distance between the fixation point and the centre of mass of the pendulum

g= intensity of the gravitation field

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Losses of energy of the pendulum
To compensate the energy loss due to the friction of the air and the extensibility of the cable,
the basic idea is to increase the potential energy by raising the mass of the pendulum while
passing its position of minimum deflection and to accelerate the ball by dropping the ball
while passing the position of maximum deflection. The potential energy is transformed into
kinetic energy.

The amplitude of the raising movement is controlled by a computer. The up to 30 mm rising

of the pendulum weight is performed with the assistance of an electro-magnet.

Compass card
The "Compass card", which you see on the glass plate under the pendulum and on the screen
of the computer on your right-hand side, indicates the cardinal points.

The arrow on the computer, as well as the laser beam in the sphere indicates the position of
the pendulum relative to the cardinal points.

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SCIENTIFICALLY IMPORTANT
1. it can be used to provide accurate TIME KEEPING

Note: today we use atomic vibrations for the most accurate clocks.

2. it can be used to measure “g” (the acceleration due to gravity) which is important in
determining the shape of the earth and the distribution of materials within it (the
science of geodesy)

The pendulum helps scientists determine "g" force which is affected by:

1) Distance from centre of earth

2) Masses attracting upwards (i.e. Mountains)

3) Density of matter around you

3. And also it can be used to show that the EARTH SPINS

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Foucault pendulum Locate in India

 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gorakhpur University

 Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune
 Tel Bhavan, ONGC, Dehradun
 Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, GUJARAT

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Reference
 http://www.travelpod.com/travel-photo/ucf74/1/1283169662/foucault-s-
pendulum.jpg/tpod.html

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foucault_pendulum

 www.smv.org/pdfs/FoucaultPendulum.pdf

 http://www.calacademy.org/products/pendulum/page1.htm

 http://www.animations.physics.unsw.edu.au//jw/foucault_pendulum.html

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