1E20.10 - Foucault Pendulum

Set the demonstration up as shown. The swing of the pendulum will have to be limited to the distance of the support rods. Works best if the demonstration is as level as possible.
Consult the instruction booklet in the 1E20.10 File in the Mechanics Section before using the overhead model.
Code Number:
1E20.10
Demo Title:
Foucault Pendulum
Condition:
Good
Principle:
Planes of Oscillation
Area of Study:
Mechanics

Disclaimer

Equipment:
Rotating Air Table, Support Rods, Pendulum, Plexiglas Foucault Model for Overhead Projector, Book - "Pendulum", written by Amir D. Aczel.
Procedure:

Set the demonstration up as shown. The swing of the pendulum will have to be limited to the distance of the support rods. Works best if the demonstration is as level as possible. Consult the instruction booklet in the 1E20.10 File in the Mechanics Section before using the overhead model. 

This pendulum is stored at 3A80.10 in the "Oscillations / Acoustics" section.  The wooden sand pendulum will have some limited applications as a Foucault pendulum.   Consult the instructions for info on how to spread the sand into a concave shape.

References:
  • Alpha E. Wilson, "Applying the Coriolis Effect to the Foucault Pendulum", TPT, Vol. 62, #6, Sept. 2024, p. 508.
  • Don Olson, "A Foucault Pendulum Pilgrimage in Paris", TPT, Vol. 59, #4, April 2021, p. 232.
  • Manfred Euler and Gert Braun,  "Hands-On Earth Rotation",  TPT, Vol. 40, # 7, p.  432, Oct 2002.
  • Alpha E. Wilson, "Foucault's Pendulum as Ellipse Tracer", TPT, Vol. 35, # 5, May 1997, p. 261.
  • Joseph D. Romano, "Foucault's Pendulum as a Sprirograph", TPT, Vol.  35, # 3, p. 182-183, March 1997.
  • Haym Kruglak, "Foucault Pendulum Revisited", TPT, Vol.  35, # 4, p.  256, April 1997.
  • John E. Horne, "Classroom Foucault Pendulum", TPT, Vol.  34, # 4, p.  238- 239, April 1996.
  • Charles A. Eckroth,  "Astro Notes: A Simulated Foucault Pendulum",  TPT, Vol. 34, # 7, p.  462, Oct. 1996.
  • H. Richard Crane,  "The Foucault Pendulum As a Murder Weapon and a Physicist's Delight",  TPT, Vol. 28, # 5, p. 264, May 1990.
  • Glenn Green, Peter Insley, "Rotator Demonstration", TPT, Vol. 23, # 8, Nov. 1985, p. 510.
  • Richard B. Minnix and D. Rae Carpenter Jr.,  "Apparatus for Teaching Physics: A Very Short, Portable Foucault Pendulum",  TPT, Vol. 21, # 7, p.  477, October 1983.
  • Haym Kruglak, "A Very Short, Portable Foucault Pendulum", TPT, Vol. 21, # 7, Oct. 1983, p. 477.
  • "How the Housefly Uses Physics to Stabilize Flight", TPT, Vol. 21, # 8, Nov. 1983, p. 544.
  • A. P. French, "Is g Really the Acceleration Due to Gravity?", TPT, Vol. 21, # 8, Nov. 1983, p. 528.
  • R. D. Edge, "Foucault Pendulum and the Coriolis Effect", TPT, Vol. 20, # 2, Feb. 1982, p. 116 - 117.
  • Scott McClatchey, Neal Flint, James H. Kraakevik, "A Sustained Demonstration Foucault Pendulum", TPT, Vol. 19, # 2, Feb. 1981, p. 134.
  • Byron E. Leonard, "A Short Foucault Pendulum for Corridor Display", TPT, Vol. 19, # 6, Sept. 1981, p. 421. 
  • Gary E. Young, Anthony P. French, "The Foucault Pendulum", TPT, Vol. 16, # 1, Jan. 1978, p. 61.
  • Francis Lestingi, Projection Foucault Pendulum", TPT, Vol. 12, # 5, May 1974, p. 311.
  • Thomas F. Jordan, J. Maps, "Change of the Plane of Oscillation of a Foucault Pendulum From Simple Pictures", AJP, Vol. 78, # 11, p. 1188, Nov. 2010.
  • Joseph Priest, Michael J. Pechan, "The Driving Mechanism for a Foucault Pendulum (revisited)", AJP, Vol. 76, # 2, p. 188, Feb. 2008.
  • Jens von Bergmann, HsingChi von Bergmann, "Foucault Pendulum Through Basic Geometry", AJP, Vol. 75, # 10, p. 888, Oct. 2007.
  • H. Richard Crane, "Foucault Pendulum 'Wall Clock'", AJP, Vol. 63, #1, Jan. 1995, p. 33.
  • Geoffrey I. Opat, "The Precession of a Foucault Pendulum Viewed as a Beat Phenomenon of a Conical Pendulum Subject to a Coriolis Force", AJP, Vol. 59, #9, Sept. 1991, p. 822.
  • John B. Hart, et. al.,  "A Simple Geometric Model for Visualizing the Motion of a Foucault Pendulum",  AJP, 67, Vol. 55, No. 1, January 1987.
  • Fig. 8 & 9, AJP, 1014, Vol. 55, No. 11, November 1987.
  • E. C. Reynhardt et. al.,  "A Modified Foucault Pendulum for a Corridor Exhibit",  AJP, Vol. 54, No. 8, August 1986, p. 759.
  • H. Richard Crane, "Short Foucault Pendulum: A Way to Eliminate the Precession Due to Ellipticity", AJP, Vol. 49, #11, Nov. 1981, p. 1004.
  • Haym Kruglak and René Pittet, "Portable, Continuously Operating Foucault Pendulum", AJP, Vol. 48, #5, May 1980, p. 419.
  • Klaus Weltner, "A New Model of the Focault Pendulum", AJP, Vol. 47, #4, April 1979, p. 365.
  • Wallace A. Hilton, "The Foucault Pendulum: A Corridor Demonstration", AJP, Vol. 46, # 4, Apr. 1978, p. 436.
  • Haym Kruglak, Larry Oppliger, Rene Pittet, and Stanley Steele, "A Short Foucault Pendulum for a Hallway Exhibit", AJP, Vol. 46, # 4, Apr. 1978, p. 438.
  • Michitoshi Soga, "Precessional Periods of Long and Short Foucault Pendulums", AJP, Vol. 46, # 7, July 1978, p. 725.
  • Jacques Renault, "Investigating the Physical Nature of the Coriolis Effects in the Fixed Frame", AJP, Vol. 45, # 7, July 1977, p. 631.
  • David R. Curott, "The Role of the Constraining Force in a Foucault Pendulum", AJP, Vol. 40, # 7, July 1972, p. 1007.
  • E. O. Schulz-DuBois, "Foucault Pendulum Experiment by Kamerlingh Onnes and Degenerate Perturbation Theory", AJP, Vol. 38, #2, Feb. 1970, p. 173.
  • Francis W. Sears, "Working Model of a Foucault Pendulum at Intermediate Latitudes", AJP, Vol. 37, #11, Nov. 1969, p. 1126.
  • Don W. Miller and G. Wayne Caudill, "Driving Mechanism for a Foucault Pendulum", AJP, Vol. 34, #7, July 1966, p. 615.
  • Mz- 6, 7:  Freier and Anderson,  A Demonstration Handbook for Physics.
  • S- 035:  "Foucault Pendulum Model",  DICK and RAE Physics Demo Notebook.
  • M- 209:  Richard Manliffe Sutton, Demonstration Experiments in Physics.
  • George M. Hopkins, "Pendulum with Audible Beats", Experimental Science, p. 47.
  • Cunningham and Herr,  "2.4.4: Foucault Pendulum",  Hands-On Physics Activities with Real Life Applications,  p. 102.
  • Gerard L'E Turner, "Nineteenth-Century Scientific Instruments", p. 74
  • 121-122:  Janice VanCleave, 201 Awesome, Magical, Bizarre, & Incredible Experiments.
  • Physics Demonstration Experiments: In Two Volumes,  p. 299- 305, 592- 594. 
  • # 130, "Rotation", Janice VanCleave's 203 Icy, Freezing, Frosty, Cool, and Wild Experiments.
  • Robert P. Crease, "Seeing The Earth Rotate: Foucault's Sublime Pendulum", The Prism & The Pendulum, Ch. 7, p. 126 - 139.
  • Borislaw Bilash II, “Foucault Pendulum“, A Demo A Day – A Year of Physical Science Demonstrations, p. 242.
The Hadley Pendulum at Colorado State University

Disclaimer: These demonstrations are provided only for illustrative use by persons affiliated with The University of Iowa and only under the direction of a trained instructor or physicist.  The University of Iowa is not responsible for demonstrations performed by those using their own equipment or who choose to use this reference material for their own purpose.  The demonstrations included here are within the public domain and can be found in materials contained in libraries, bookstores, and through electronic sources.  Performing all or any portion of any of these demonstrations, with or without revisions not depicted here entails inherent risks.  These risks include, without limitation, bodily injury (and possibly death), including risks to health that may be temporary or permanent and that may exacerbate a pre-existing medical condition; and property loss or damage.  Anyone performing any part of these demonstrations, even with revisions, knowingly and voluntarily assumes all risks associated with them.