Relative Motion Topic

Rotating Reference Frames

Concept 2 demos

Transparent Foucault pendulum model on a WolfVision document camera: a clear acrylic disk printed with a polar-projection world map and latitude circles, with a pendulum bob suspended from a clear acrylic frame

Camera with Foucault Pendulum

A transparent Foucault pendulum model on a document camera shows how a pendulum's swing plane appears to precess when viewed from a rotating reference frame. By rotating either the disk …

Foucault pendulum apparatus: black tripod with colored tape markers on legs, steel central post, small dark pendulum bob, mounted on a large circular wooden parquet-patterned platform disk

Foucault Pendulum

A pendulum swings over a rotating platform to show that its oscillation plane remains fixed in the lab frame while appearing to rotate for a platform-bound observer. Demonstrates how inertial …

Coriolis Effect

Concept 1 demo

Large circular wooden platform with parquet surface mounted on a heavy black turntable base, with a superball near center and metal locking bars visible at the edges

Coriolis Effect

A ball rolled across a large rotating platform travels in a straight line in the lab frame but follows a curved path relative to the platform. Students see directly that …