lunduniversity.lu.se

Denna sida på svenska This page in English

Pendulums and circular tracks

Many amusement rides are basically pendulums, from traditional pirate ships to more recent additions of giant gyro swings. The pendulum has been a part of physics since Galileo discovered that the time for a full swing was independent of the amplitude of the swing (at least for small oscillations), but depends on the length of a pendulum:

The formula holds for a "mathematical pendulum", which is a point-like mass suspended from a massless swing. It is a surprisingly good approximation for also more realistic pendulums, as illustrated by the various objects suspended from different-length strings in one of the photos to the right and playgrounds swings. The article below discusses the Little Rockin Tug:

Other pendulum motions at Liseberg

(The links go to Swedish www-pages, that include data and some also accelerometer graphs)

Earlier pendulum rides at Liseberg:

Some of these reach large angles during the swing. Check the corrections for large angles and deviations from point particles on massless strings for a physical pendulum.

Other oscillations

  • The Wave swinger rides involves an oscillation due to the tilt of the roof. In this case, the period is modified by the accelerated motion around the carousel.
  • The gondolas in Mechanica swing back and forth.