Pendulum physics describes the swinging motion of a weight hung from a fixed point. The pendulum will continue to swing unless acted upon by an external force due to the fundamental law of inertia. The energy within a system remains constant, and the total potential and kinetic energy of the weight is preserved throughout the arc. Pendulums are assumed to have perpetual motion, making them useful for timekeeping and measuring gravitational force.
Pendulum physics is used to describe the swinging motion of a pendulum caused by gravity. To create a pendulum, a weight, called a bob, is hung from a fixed point, called a pivot. By pulling back on the pendulum and letting go, it will swing back and forth due to the force of gravity and the tension along the string or wire from which the weight is hanging. The movement continues by inertia.
According to the fundamental law of inertia, whether a body is stationary or in motion, it will continue in that state unless acted upon by an external force. In the case of pendulum physics, the pendulum will continue to swing unless an external force acts to stop it. Since no external forces are acting upon it, it can continue to swing indefinitely through the same arc.
The action of a pendulum is a good example of the conservation of mechanical energy. This law of physics states that the energy within a system always remains constant. In other words, the sum of energy is always the same, and energy cannot be created or destroyed. There are many different types of energy states that an object can be in, such as kinetic, potential, chemical, nuclear, and thermal. Potential and kinetic, or moving, energy states are what are measured and observed in pendulum physics.
When a pendulum swings, its energy state changes based on where in the arc the weight is, but what remains the same is the sum total of the potential and kinetic energy of the weight – in other words, the energy is preserved. At the pendulum’s highest point, it has no velocity, and all energy in the system is potential. As it falls through the arc, the weight gains velocity and kinetic energy while losing potential energy. Once it passes through the bottom of the arc, it begins to slow down and loses kinetic energy as it gains height and potential energy. Although kinetic and potential energy vary, measurements from pendulum physics show that the total remains the same at all points in the pendulum’s arc.
In pendulum physics, it is assumed that air resistance and friction are non-existent on weight. Because the energy of a pendulum system is conserved, it is said to have perpetual motion, which can continue indefinitely until energy is lost to other objects or its surroundings. The fact that a pendulum keeps swinging the same way over time is why it was used in clocks to keep time and initially used to measure gravitational force.
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