Air Track Pendulum


MPEG Movie (2.27 MB)

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 Code Number :   1D40.50  

Disclaimer:

Reprinted by permission of Dick Berg, University of Maryland, for use on this website.

The demonstrations contained and referenced herein are listed for the purposes of cataloging and describing physics demonstrations which should be conducted only under the direction of a trained instructional support professional or physicist. These demonstrations are not presented for the purpose of being conducted by persons unconnected to this Facility and/or persons not consulting with or being supervised by the recognized instructional support professional or physicist and his/her staff. The University is responsible only for those demonstrations carried out using its own equipment using established safety and scheduling policies, and bears no responsibility for those choosing to use this source material for their own purposes. All demonstrations described and contained herein are public domain, and can also be found in reference materials in libraries, bookstores, and electronic sources.

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Condition :   Good  
Principle :   Center of Mass   
Area of Study :  Mechanics  
 Equipment :   Air Track, Air Track Pendulum.  
Procedure :   Start the pendulum swinging and then push the whole cart and pendulum system down the air track.  The car will seem to start and stop as it moves down the track.  However, if you look at it with videotape or video capture you will see that the center of mass of the whole system moves at a constant velocity.  
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   References

Margaret Stautberg Greenwood,  "Conservation of Momentum and the Center of Mass of a Cart - Truck System,"  TPT, Vol. 25, # 6, p. 370, (September 1987).

Akio Saitoh,  "Conservation of Momentum - Walking the Boat,"  TPT, Vol. 23, # 5, p. 316, (May 1985).

 

Mp-1:  Freier and Anderson,  A Demonstration Handbook for Physics.

 

M-486: "Swivel Hips - Pendulum on Cart,"  DICK and RAE Physics Demo Notebook.

 

M-125:  Richard Manliffe Sutton,  Demonstration Experiments in Physics.

 



Mail Questions and Comments to:  Dale Stille