International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 44 (2009) 923 -- 927

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International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics

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Thomas rotation and Foucault pendulum under a simple unifying geometrical

point of view
C. Criado a, ∗ , N. Alamo b
a
Departamento de Fisica Aplicada I, Universidad de Malaga, 29071 Malaga, Spain
b
Departamento de Algebra, Geometria y Topologia, Universidad de Malaga, 29071 Malaga, Spain

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Article history: In this paper we show that there is a complete parallelism between the Foucault pendulum and the
Received 3 March 2009 Thomas rotation phenomena by using the concept of parallel transport in a surface. In the case of the
Received in revised form 18 June 2009 Foucault pendulum the surface is the ordinary sphere corresponding to the Earth sphere, whereas in the
Accepted 19 June 2009
case of the Thomas rotation the surface is the pseudosphere corresponding to the space of relativistic
PACS:
velocities. Moreover, in both cases we use a simple method that reduces the problem to the parallel
45.40.Cc; 03.30.+p; 02.40.Hw transport in a conical surface, and so, to the plane.
© 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Thomas rotation
Foucault pendulum
Parallel transport

1. Introduction the spin–orbit term in the Hamiltonian of the hydrogen atom.1 So

In 1851 Foucault gave an experimental proof of the Earth rotation
[1]. He suspended a pendulum from the dome of the Pantheon in
Paris and observed that, after a sidereal day, the plane in which the
pendulum oscillated had rotated a certain angle . This angle is given
in general by the Foucault formula:
 = −2 cos 
for a place of colatitude  (the polar angle from the axis of rotation
that assigns 0◦ to the north pole). The following year, in order to
demonstrate the Earth rotation independently of the latitude, Fou-
cault constructed a torque-free gyroscope. After one day, the spin
axis of the gyroscope returned to its original orientation with respect
to the Earth, as it was expected. However, this Newtonian result is
not true in special relativity. Instead, the angle  rotated by the spin
axis of a torque-free gyroscope after a complete circular trip with
constant velocity, v, is given by the Thomas rotation formula:
that ultimately the Foucault experiment does not give a proof of the
Earth rotation independent of the latitude, because the velocity v
depends on the colatitude  : v = R sin , where  is the angular
velocity of the Earth's rotation and R is the Earth's radius. However,
since v>c, the effect is negligible.
Observe that formulae (1) and (2) are very similar. They differ
in that in (1) appears a circular function whereas in (2)√appears a
(1) hyperbolic function. Formally, cosh  = cos i, where i = −1 is the
imaginary unit. The hyperbolic functions appear in a natural way in
the study of the pseudosphere also called sphere of imaginary radius
[7], which, as set of points, is the hyperboloid of two sheets, H2 .
The similarity between formulae (1) and (2) is not due to chance.
Actually, it obeys a deep geometric reason. As we shall see, the study
of both phenomena, the Foucault pendulum and the Thomas rotation,
can be unified with the use of the concept of parallel transport of
a vector V along a curve  in a surface. In the case of the Foucault
pendulum we will work with the ordinary sphere corresponding to
the Earth sphere, whereas in the case of the Thomas rotation we will

 = −2 cosh , (2)

where tanh  = v/c. This phenomenon is known as Thomas rotation,
after Thomas, in 1926 (see [2]), used it to explain the correction in
∗ Corresponding author. Fax: +34 952132010.
E-mail address: c_criado@uma.es (C. Criado).
1
Thomas rotation can also be presented as a result of the composition of
two non-collinear pure Lorentz transformation (i.e., Lorentz transformations with-
out spatial rotations). It happens that the composition of two pure Lorentz trans-
formations is a pure Lorentz transformation with an additional spatial rotation (see
Refs. [3,4]). This rotation corresponds precisely to Thomas rotation, and is related
with the holonomy group studied by Wigner [5] in the context of representation
theory of the Lorentz group. So it is sometimes also referred as the Thomas–Wigner
rotation. For a complete study of Foucault pendulum-like problems see [6].

0020-7462/$ - see front matter © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijnonlinmec.2009.06.008
924 C. Criado, N. Alamo / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 44 (2009) 923 -- 927
TP TQ
Δ onal to the swing plane, so that V(t) is a vector field tangent to a
Q non-rotating sphere S2 along the latitude circle  of colatitude .
 P
VP VP Q
S2
Fig. 1. The sphere S2 and the cone that is tangent to S2 along the latitude circle 
of colatitude /3. The parallel transport of a vector VP along  coincides for both
surfaces. The angle between VP and its parallel transport after a complete turn is
. In the Foucault pendulum effect, VP corresponds to a vector orthogonal to the
plane of the pendulum's swing.
consider the pseudosphere corresponding to the space of relativistic
velocities. In both cases the parallel transport is performed along a
latitude circle determined, respectively, by the parameters  and .
We also show that both cases reduce to parallel transport on a conical
surface, and so to the trivial case of parallel transport on a plane.
2. Parallel transport in the sphere and Foucault pendulum
In the ordinary space, we say that a vector field V(t) defined along
a curve (t) is parallel if it is constant, or equivalently, if (dV/dt)(t)=0.
In a surface  we say that a vector field V(t) tangent to the surface
along a curve (t) is parallel if the orthogonal projection of (dV/dt)(t)
onto the tangent plane to  at (t) is 0 [8]. Intuitively, the above
) by 0 < < ∞,
definition means that the people living in the surface see no change
< , where (see Figs. 2 and 3)
in the vector field V along .
Observe that, since the definition of parallel transport only de-
pends on the curve  and the tangent planes to the surface along ,
the parallel transport of a vector along a curve  is the same for any
two surfaces which are tangent along  [8]. We will use this prop-
erty to find the parallel transport of a vector along a latitude circle 
in the ordinary sphere by reducing the problem to a conical surface
which is tangent to the above surface along  (see Fig. 1). Since the
Gaussian curvature of a conical surface is zero, it can be flattened
on the flattened cone of
into a region in the plane. Therefore, to obtain formula (1) we re-
) with the parallel
duce the problem to make a parallel transport in the plane where
) = V(0) = V is given by −
, and so, after a complete
this notion is the usual one. In Section 4 we will make an analogous
construction for the case of the parallel transport of a vector along
a latitude circle of the pseudosphere, and will obtain formula (2) by
reducing the problem to make a parallel transport in the plane.
Let us now consider an oscillating pendulum situated in the Earth
at colatitude . With respect to a non-rotating coordinate system the
suspension point of the pendulum moves at constant speed along a
Fig. 2. Vertical section of the sphere and cone of Fig. 1 showing some geometric
relations.
latitude circle. We assume that for very small oscillations each pen-
dulum's swing can be approximately contained in a vertical plane
[9]. Then, for each time t, we can consider a unit vector V(t) orthog-
The only external force acting on the pendulum is vertical because
the centripetal force on the pendulum is negligible compared with
its weight. Therefore there are no external tangential forces on the
swing plane of the pendulum, and so there are no forces that could
make V(t) turn, just the constraint to remain tangent to the Earth
sphere, and so from the point of view of a two-dimensional inhab-
itant of the sphere, the vector V(t) appears unchanged. It follows
that the orthogonal projection of dV/dt on the tangent plane is zero.
This means that V(t) is parallel along the latitude circle. Observe
that from a physical point of view, parallel transport on a surface
corresponds to a rotation-free transport, because is associated to a
torque-free motion on the surface, and can be realizable by using a
gyroscope whose axis of rotation is constrained to lie in the tangent
plane to the surface, but otherwise free to rotate and not subject to
other torques.
Notice that the angle rotated by the pendulum's swing plane after
the pendulum completes a turn along the latitude circle  is then
given by the angle rotated by the parallel vector field V along this
latitude circle.
To calculate this angle, , consider a cone C tangent to the sphere
S2 along  (see Fig. 1), so the parallel transport of a vector along 
is the same for the two surfaces.
Observe that the angle at the vertex of the cone is /2 −  (see
Fig. 2), so it is the latitude of .
On the other hand, the cone C can be flattened into a region of the
plane. More precisely, the cone C minus a generatrix is isometric to
the open set of R2 given in the polar coordinates ( ,
0 <
2r
= = 2 cos . (3)
d
To calculate the angle that the vector field V(t) has rotated after
completing a turn along the latitude circle  = constant we will use
the property that the parallel transport in R2 is the ordinary one.
Without loss of generality we may assume that the vector V =V(0)
is a unit tangent vector to , T(0), at t = 0. Then for a displacement t
along  corresponding to a central angle
Fig. 3, the angle formed by the tangent vector T(
transport V(
turn, the angle  rotated by V(t) is −, and so we get the Foucault
formula (1).
Observe that in the extreme cases in which the pendulum is
placed at the north or south pole ( =0, ), or at the equator ( = /2),
there are no tangent cones. In these cases we can use an argument
of continuity on (3) to obtain that  = −2, +2 for the north and
south poles respectively, and  = 0 for the equator.
 C. Criado, N. Alamo / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 44 (2009) 923 -- 927 925

Fig. 3. Parallel transport along the latitude circle  of the flattened cone of Figs.
1 and 4. In the case of Fig. 1, V represents a vector orthogonal to the pendulum's
swing plane, whereas in the case of Fig. 4, V represents the gyroscope's angular
momentum.

Fig. 4. The pseudosphere H+ that represents the space of relativistic velocities

and the cone tangent to it along the latitude circle  with  = 1.35. The parallel
The angle  modulus 2 is usually called the holonomy angle or the transport along  of a tangent vector S coincides for both surfaces. The angle that
geometric phase of the pendulum. Note that the area A of the spherical S rotates after a complete circular trip is −12.93 rad, that is, two complete turns
 2   and 21◦ in the opposite direction to that of the motion on the circle. In the Thomas
disk of radius  is given by A = 0 0 sin  d d = 2(1 − cos ),
rotation effect the vector S corresponds to the gyroscope's angular momentum and
and therefore the angle of rotation of the pendulum's swing plane v = tanh  = 0.874c is the velocity of the gyroscope's center of mass.
coincides, modulus 2, with A.

3. The pseudosphere as the space of relativistic velocities define the upper sheet H+ of the hyperboloid (also called pseudo-
sphere) (see Fig. 4). In the pseudospherical coordinates of R3 , namely
The time evolution of a particle in an inertial reference frame is ( , , ), given by
given by a function tx(t) ∈ R3 . Associated to this frame we can
V = (V1 , V2 , V0 ) = ( sinh  cos , sinh  sin , cosh ) (8)
consider the Minkowski space R41 , that is, R4 with the coordinates
2 2 2 2
(x1 , x2 , x3 , ct) endowed with the Lorentz metric ds =dx1 +dx2 +dx3 − with ⱖ 0,  ⱖ 0, and 0 ⱕ  ⱕ 2, the Lorentz metric is given by
2 2
c dt , where c is the velocity of light, which we will take equal to 2
1 to simplify the expressions. We denote by X · Y the Lorentz inner ds = −d 2 + 2 (d2 + sinh2  d2 ), (9)
product for 4-vectors X and Y. A Lorentz transformation is any linear and the induced Riemannian metric in the hyperboloid = 1 is
transformation that preserves the Lorentz metric [10].
2
The evolution of the particle's position, known as its worldline, is ds = d2 + sinh2  d2 . (10)
given in this space by the 4-vector X(t)=(x(t), t)=(x1 (t), x2 (t), x3 (t), t).
The arc length parameter of the particle worldline, that is, the The intrinsic curvature of the hyperboloid provided with this met-
parameter for which ric is a constant equal to −1, and therefore the upper sheet H+ of
the hyperboloid is a model of a two-dimensional hyperbolic space
dX dX (or Lobachevskian space). By definition, Lorentz transformations pre-
· = −1,
d d serve metric (9). But (10) is the induced metric on the set of vectors
V (with positive time components) satisfying V · V = − 2 = −1. As
is called proper time. For this parameter we have a consequence, Lorentz transformations also preserve (10), so they
  2  2 are isometries of H+ .
dX dX dX dX dt dt Comparing the expressions of the spacetime velocity V in terms
−1 = · = · = (v2 − 1) ;
d d dt dt d d of ,
hence V = (sinh  cos , sinh  sin , cosh ), (11)
dt 1 and in terms of v,
= = v . (4)
d 1 − v2
V = (v, 1)v = (v cos , v sin , 1)v , (12)
The spacetime velocity and the spacetime acceleration are defined
by we deduce that sinh  = vv , cosh  = v , and therefore (see Fig. 4),

tanh  = v. (13)
dX dV
V= , A= . (5)
d d In special relativity  is called rapidity, and H+ is called rapidity
space or space of relativistic velocities.
From the definition of proper time, it follows that V · V = V12 + V22 +
Note that plotting all velocity vectors V along X( ) from the origin,
V32 − V02 = −1, so in particular V is timelike (i.e., V · V < 0).
we obtain a curve  on the space of relativistic velocities H+ (see
On the other hand, A is orthogonal to V because
Fig. 4).
d(V · V)
0= = 2V · A. (6) 4. Parallel transport in the pseudosphere and Thomas rotation
d

In order to simplify the exposition, we restrict ourselves to two Parallel transport in the hyperboloid H+ endowed with the Rie-
spatial dimensions, so our spacetime reduces to R31 . In this case, the mannian metric induced by the Lorentz metric in R3 is defined sim-
equations ilarly to the case of a surface  ⊂ R3 with the metric induced by the
Euclidean metric of R3 , so, we say that a vector field S(u) defined
−1 = V12 + V22 − V02 , V0 > 0 (7) along a curve (u) in H+ and tangent to the hyperboloid at each point
926 C. Criado, N. Alamo / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 44 (2009) 923 -- 927

of the curve is parallel along  if the usual derivative (dS/du)(u) is

Lorentz-orthogonal to the tangent plane to H+ at each point of the
curve. Therefore, from the point of view of the hyperboloid H+ with
the induced metric, a vector field S(u) parallel along (u) does not
change along the curve. From the definition it follows that a vector
field S parallel along a curve of the hyperboloid H+ has a constant
length, since S and dS/du are Lorentz-orthogonal and therefore

d(S · S) dS
= 2S · = 0.
du du

Consider a torque-free gyroscope whose center of mass is moving Fig. 5. Vertical section of the pseudosphere and cone of Fig. 4 showing some
with constant speed v = tanh  in a circular orbit of radius R, relative geometric relations.
to an inertial frame. Let x(t) = (R cos (t), R sin (t)) be its spatial
position vector in the central frame {O, x1 , x2 }; (t) = (v/R)t is the
angle between this vector and the x1 -axis. Its worldline X = (x(t), t) For that we consider a conical surface C tangent to the pseudo-
in the Minkowski space is a helix and its spacetime velocity sphere H+ along  (see Fig. 4), so that the parallel transport of a
vector along  is the same for H+ and for C. The cone C minus a
dX dX dt
V= = generatrix is isometric to the open set of R2 given in the polar co-
d dt d ordinates ( ,
) by 0 < < ∞, 0 <
<  (see Fig. 3).
is given by To calculate , note that

˙ cos , 1) = (−v sin , v cos , 1) cosh 

˙ sin , R 2r
V = (−R v (14) = ,
d
and by using Eq. (13), we obtain where the distances r = |PH|L and d = |PC|L are calculated using the
Lorentz metric (see Fig. 5 for a vertical section of Fig. 4). In this
V = (− sinh  sin , sinh  cos , cosh ). (15)
vertical section the cartesian coordinates of points P, H, and C are,
This equation coincides with Eq. (11) as expected, because =+/2, respectively, P = (sinh , cosh ), H = (0, cosh ), and C = (0, 1/cosh ),
where  is the angle between the velocity and the x1 -axis. Observe
that since = constant, V describes a latitude circle in H+ .
Let S be the angular momentum of the spinning disk of the gy-
roscope in the instantaneous rest frame of the gyroscope's center of
mass. In this frame, one may define an associated spacetime vector
S by S = (S, 0) which has the direction of the gyroscope's spin axis.
Therefore S · S = |S|2 = constant. Note that, in general, S is not purely
spatial in other frames. Moreover, in the above frame, the space-
time velocity is given by V = (0, 1), so we have S · V = 0 in this frame
and, therefore, by conservation of the Lorentz metric under a Lorentz
transformation, in any other frame.
Observe that the gradient of function (7) defining H+ is
(2V1 , 2V2 , −2V3 ), so that a vector W = (W1 , W2 , W3 ) is tangent to H+
if it satisfies V1 W1 + V2 W2 − V3 W3 = 0, i.e., if W is Lorentz-orthogonal
to V. In our case, since S is Lorentz-orthogonal to V, we conclude
where C has been obtained as the intersection between the tangent
line to H+ at P and the vertical axis x = 0.
Therefore we obtain r =|PH|L =sinh , and d=|PC|L =tanh , which
are the analogous results for the ordinary sphere r=|PH|E =sin , and
d = |PC|E = tan  (compare Figs. 2 and 5). All these results correspond
to the usual geometric interpretations of the hyperbolic and circular
functions over the hyperbola and the circle, respectively.
We then obtain that  = 2 cosh . As in Section 2, taking into
account that the parallel transport in R2 is the ordinary parallel
transport, the angle that forms the tangent vector T() with S() =
S(0)= constant is (see Fig. 3) − = −2 cosh  with cosh  = v =
(1 − v2 /c2 )−1/2 , and this angle is just the angle  rotated by S(t)
after a complete trip along , so that we obtain the Thomas rotation
formula (2). The angle  modulus 2 is the holonomy angle. Notice
that the area A of the hyperbolic disk of radius  is given by A =
 2  
that S lies in tangent planes to H+ along the latitude circle = 0 0 sinh  d d=2(cosh −1), hence this area coincides modulus
constant, and so S is a vector field tangent to H+ along this circle. 2 with the negative of the angle of rotation .
On the other hand, since there are no torques, there is no spatial Observe that since the holonomy angle H is defined as the rota-
rotation of the gyroscope's spin axis. This means that dS/d
does tion angle  modulus 2, infinitely many different velocities produce
not have spatial component in the instantaneous rest frame of the the same holonomy angle. For example, the initial and final directions
gyroscope's center of mass, or equivalently, dS/d
has the direction of of the spin axis of the gyroscope after to complete a round trip coin-

V =(0, 1). Thus, dS/d
has the direction of V in any frame.2 Therefore, cide, i.e. H =0, for any velocity vj such that vj =cosh j =1/ 1 − v2j =j,
since 
with j = 2, 3, . . . an integer number, that is, for vj = 1 − (1/j2 ).
dS dS d Furthermore, for any velocity v such that v is a rational number p/q
= ,
d
d d
we also get H = 0 after the gyroscope completes q circular turns.

dS/d also has the direction of V. But this is the condition for a vector Acknowledgments
field to be parallel along a latitude circle = constant in H+ .
Let us now calculate the angle rotated by S after completing a This work was partially supported by the grants TEC2007-
turn along a latitude circle  in H+ . We will do it in a completely 60996/MIC (C. Criado), MTM2007-60016 and FQM-2863 (N. Alamo).
similar way as in Section 2 for the case of the ordinary sphere.
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2
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