- #1
Josh Wilson
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Occasionally while eating at restaurants, I will swing the lamp hanging above the table and observe its motion. One feature has puzzled me for some time: at first the light swings back and forth linearly in the plane of motion corresponding to the initial release point. However, after some time the pendulum (light) changes its motion so as to swing sometimes in a circular fashion, and sometimes in a linear fashion whose direction is different than the initial direction. The direction and type of motion seem to be constantly changing.
Is this a feature of pendulums in general, or is there some complexity due to the fact that the light is not a simple point mass?
Is this a feature of pendulums in general, or is there some complexity due to the fact that the light is not a simple point mass?