Pendulum Waves
Safety Warnings
Warning: Do Not Adjust String Lengths
Purpose
An array of pendulums with harmonically related lengths cycles through striking patterns of coherence and apparent chaos over a 54-second period. Demonstrates beat phenomena, phase relationships, and the superposition of independent oscillators.
Figure 1:
Pendulum wave apparatus mid-cycle, viewed from below. Each successive pendulum completes one additional oscillation during the 54-second cycle.
Figure 2:
Portable tabletop version with clear acrylic frame and green bifilar strings.