The Pendulum

by John
(Washington State)

Secret Signature of the Earth - Imagine you're standing still, but the ground under your shoes is sprinting. All you need is a bottle of glue and a string to prove this giant secret.

John starts us off... For my 3rd grade science project I created a pendulum using a ladder and a two-liter soda bottle. The soda bottle was filled with Elmer's glue mixed with food coloring and then set into motion. As the pendulum swings back and forth large sheet of butcher paper underneath the ladder reveals the movement pattern of the pendulums motion.

In addition I setup a display covering the different types of Pendulums and my source of inspiration, the movie "The Pit and the Pendulum". Definitely my favorite science project over the years and one I'm eager to share with my son when he is older.

Barry's Response - Yes John. Pendulums are neat things. Especially the device devised by Léon Foucault, depicted above.

What seems so simple these days took some effort to devise and explain at one point. What makes the pendulum trace out its path as shown rather than simply swing back and forth like a clock's pendulum?

The rotation of the earth. The clock is designed to allow motion in one direction only, otherwise it would swing freely like this one as well. This one swings so that in real space it does not change its direction. Instead the earth moves under it while the plane of the pendulum motion remains fixed in space.

This Wikipedia article gives you a better insight into how this happens...complete with physics and math formulae and other animated depictions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foucault_pendulum

Search this site for more information now.

Nature's Grand Rhythm: The Pendulum

Think a pendulum just swings back and forth? That's boring, right? Wrong. Pendulums are rebels. A Foucault Pendulum reveals the truth: the Earth is sprinting beneath your feet while you feel stationary.

Giant swing at Atmosphere We see pendulums everywhere in meteorology. Think about the seasons. Earth tilts, and the weather swings from biting frost to sweltering heat. There's no stopping in the middle. For eons, it's been a rhythmic cycle.

People want you to panic and think the climate pendulum is breaking. Look at history! Long before humans drove cars, the Earth swung from Ice Ages to Greenhouse periods. Skeptics say that we ignore the Sun's role - the giant hand that pushes the pendulum. Is the climate changing? Yes, of course. Does it swing naturally? Observe the patterns, says science. Just don't swallow the consensus like lukewarm food. Take a look at it.

Earth's breath: Air Quality I'm an air quality consultant (yeah, that's a thing). Trees exhale oxygen during the day. The pattern shifts at night. With our machines, we stir the air, but the wind sweeps it away-driven by the same rotation that moves Foucault's device.

Because we're stewards of this masterpiece, we should protect our Aquatic Neighborhoods and skies. All of us can agree: Clean air rocks, whether we're protecting Earth or just smart monkeys on a rock.

Here's why your glue project matters: The Science Odyssey

Consider this mock-interview...

#1: I traced lines on butcher paper with Elmer's glue. It looked like a Spirograph gone crazy.
#2: That's actually the Earth's signature. It wasn't just you who moved the bottle; it was the Earth.
#1: I guess the Earth rotates? (Sassy shrug) Okay. Not a big deal. Does that help me predict if it's going to rain?
#2: Yeah, it does! Hurricanes spin because of the Coriolis Effect. It's why the wind curves instead of blowing straight. Our weather would be stagnant and dead without that swing.
#1: So science is just watching things happen?
#2: Science is a form of defiance. It's not accepting "I don't know" as an answer. Some people say the oceans are rising and we're all doomed. Some say it's all a hoax. Make your own instruments. Get a barometer. Keep an eye on the pressure. It's usually when the pendulum swings toward Total Certainty that the most interesting discoveries are made.

How about something wilder...

Atmo-Swing Network: A Revolutionary Idea Could we build thousands of mini-pendulums in schools? We could connect them to air quality sensors. The sensors will carve a real-time map of CO2 levels and pollen as the Earth rotates. We wouldn't need satellites; we'd have a global, living piece of art.

Don't be afraid to speak your mind!

Is the Climate Pendulum swinging too far, or is it just doing what it's always done? Is your science teacher like Einstein or a Poe character?

Let me know what you think! Is your wildest science project a revelation, or just a mess of Elmer's glue?