[time-nuts] A different timenuts interest

[Flemming Larsen]

The Exploratorium at The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco had one of these, and
may still have it. I haven't been there in a while and don't know the details.
 
Nuts & Volts had a construction project for a continuously swinging pendulum in their
September 2009 issue. It had a magnet at the end of the pendulum which generated
a current in a coil mounted in the center of the base. A simple 2-transistor circuit would
sense the pendulum swing and would generate a pulse in the same coil to accelerate
the pendulum and keep it swinging in infinity, or until the battery died, whichever came
first.
 
Have you looked for ideas on Bryan Mumford's website?
 
-- FL

 

--- Den ons 21/7/10 skrev Morris Odell <vilgotch at bigpond.net.au>:


Fra: Morris Odell <vilgotch at bigpond.net.au>
Emne: [time-nuts] A different timenuts interest
Til: time-nuts at febo.com
Dato: onsdag 21. juli 2010 17.13


Hi all,

I have been asked to help with the construction of a Foucault pendulum. This
is a long pendulum which oscillates in a slow stately fashion in a fixed
plane which appears to move as the earth rotates. In reality the surrounding
environment is really moving relative to the plane of oscillation.

The pendulum requires a sustaining system to compensate for the inevitable
energy loss with each swing. The system is located in the building and
therefore rotates relative to the pendulum. It needs to provide an impulse
which does not affect the plane of oscillation of the pendulum. I was
thinking of an electromagnet located below the centre of the swing which
would be pulsed appropriately as the bob passes over it.

Has anyone here had any experience with such a system of have any
suggestions regarding the sustaining system? This is an interesting and
challenging project.

Cheers,

Morris



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