Linear and Rotating Motion
Purpose
A motorized rotating ball is synchronized with a mass-spring oscillator to show that SHM is the projection of uniform circular motion. A lamp casts shadows of both onto a backdrop, making the correspondence visible even from the back of a lecture hall.
Figure 1:
Complete setup: motor with ball attachment on wooden block, 340g mass on spring suspended from rod between bench clamp stands, fiber optic lamp for shadow projection, and Radiotrol speed control.
Figure 2:
Side view of the setup in a lecture hall. When synchronized, the ball's vertical position tracks the mass position, showing SHM as the projection of circular motion.
Demo Apparatus
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