Chaotic Double Pendulum
Safety Warnings
Warning: Secure Mounting Required
Purpose
Demonstrates chaotic motion and sensitive dependence on initial conditions in a simple two-degree-of-freedom system. At low energy the pendulum shows predictable coupled oscillations; at higher energy it transitions to chaotic, unpredictable motion despite being fully deterministic.
Figure 1:
The chaotic pendulum in motion. The long-exposure blur shows the silver bar swinging through a large arc during high-energy chaotic motion.
Figure 2:
The pendulum at rest in equilibrium. The upper pivot is at the top of the black bar; the lower pivot connects the black bar to the silver bar.
Figure 3:
The black upper bar extended horizontally, showing the initial condition for in-phase harmonic motion. Check the primary axle for tightness before use.
Figure 4:
Setting up the out-of-phase initial condition: hold the system in a "4" shape with the silver bar's parallel edges framing the red support column, then release.
Demo Apparatus
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