CLASSROOM

Classroom

In this section of Resonance, we invite readers to pose questions likely to be raised in a

classroom situation. We may suggest strategies for dealing with them, or invite responses,
or both. “Classroom” is equally a forum for raising broader issues and sharing personal
experiences and viewpoints on matters related to teaching and learning science.

H P Kaumudi
The Simple Pendulum: Not So Simple After All! BSc Final Year
St. Joseph’s College
Bangalore 560 027, India.

T h e o re tic a l a n a ly sis o f th e `sim p le ' p e n d u lu m b e -

Vasant Natarajan
y o n d th e sm a ll-a n g le a p p r o x im a tio n te a c h e s u s Department of Physics
a b o u t a n h a r m o n ic o sc illa to r s a n d a p p r o x im a te Indian Institute of Science
(p e rtu r b a tiv e ) so lu tio n s. E x p e rim e n ts w ith a Bangalore 560 012, India.
sim p le -to -se t-u p p e n d u lu m te a c h u s a b o u t e rro rs Email:profvasant@gmail.com

in m e a su r e m e n ts, a n d c u rv e ¯ ttin g o f th e o re tic a l

e x p r e ssio n s to e x p e r im e n ta l d a ta . T h e p e n d u -
lu m a lso e x h ib its fric tio n a l d a m p in g , a fe a tu r e o f
m o st re a l o sc illa to rs.
1 . In tr o d u c tio n
G a lileo G a lilei (1 5 6 4 { 1 6 4 2 ) ¯ rst in tro d u ced th e co n cep t
o f a sim p le p en d u lu m w h en h e w a s w a tch in g a la m p in
a ch u rch o scilla te (it w a s h is resp o n sib ility to see th a t
it k ep t o n b u rn in g ). H e w a s a m ed ica l stu d en t a t th a t
tim e, so h e u sed h is p u lse to reco rd th e tim e ta k en fo r
th e o scilla tio n s. H e fo u n d th a t, co n tra ry to co m m o n b e-
Keywords
lief, th e tim e ta k en b y th e p en d u lu m fo r ea ch o scilla tio n Harmonic oscillator, anharmoni-
is th e sa m e in d ep en d en t o f th e a m p litu d e. N ow a d ay s, city, damping, measurement
w e stu d y th e sim p le p en d u lu m in h ig h sch o o l a n d lea rn errors, curve fitting.

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The independence of th a t th is in d ep en d en ce o f tim e p erio d w ith a m p litu d e is

time period with th e essen ce o f a h a rm o n ic o scilla to r. B u t th e p en d u lu m
amplitude is the
b eh av es in th is `sim p le' m a n n er o n ly w h en w e m a k e th e
essence of a
so -ca lled sm a ll-a n g le a p p ro x im a tio n . A t la rg er a n g les,
th is a p p rox im a tio n b rea k s d ow n a n d th e m o tio n o f th e
harmonic oscillator.
p en d u lu m sh ow s in terestin g n ew p h y sics.
In th is a rticle, w e w ill see h ow th e so lu tio n ch a n g es w h en
w e h av e to g o b ey o n d th e sm a ll-a n g le a p p rox im a tio n ,
m a k in g th e o scilla to r `a n h a rm o n ic'. W e w ill ¯ rst see h ow
to th eo retica lly so lv e th e a n h a rm o n ic eq u a tio n o f m o tio n
u sin g a p p rox im a tio n m eth o d s. W e w ill th en set u p a n
ex p erim en t to v erify th ese resu lts. T h e sa m e ex p erim en t
w ill sh ow u s a n o th er fea tu re o f rea l-w o rld o scilla to rs,
n a m ely frictio n a l d a m p in g . A n a ly sis o f th e ex p erim en ta l
d a ta w ill tea ch u s a b o u t m ea su rem en t erro rs a n d cu rv e
¯ ttin g to th eo retica l ex p ressio n s.
2 . T h e o r e tic a l A n a ly sis
T h e p a ra m eters d e¯ n in g th e p en d u lu m a re its len g th , l,
a n d th e b o b m a ss, m , a s sh ow n in F igu re 1 . T h e m o tio n
o f th e p en d u lu m is p a ra m etrized b y th e a n g le μ , a n d o u r
p ro b lem is to ¯ n d th e tim e ev o lu tio n o f th is p a ra m eter.
T o so lv e th is, it is m o st co n v en ien t to sta rt w ith N ew -
to n 's seco n d law o f m o tio n , F = m a , b u t m o d i¯ ed a s
b elow fo r a n g u la r d isp la cem en ts:
Figure 1. The simple pen-
d2μ
dulum showing the rel- N = I ; (1 )
evant parameters. d t2
w h ere N = ¡ m g l sin μ is th e restorin g torqu e, a n d I =
m l2 is th e m o m en t o f in ertia , b o th d e¯ n ed a b o u t th e
p o in t o f su p p o rt. S u b stitu tin g in (1 ), th e eq u a tio n o f
m o tio n b eco m es
d2μ g
+ sin μ = 0 : (2 )
dt 2 l
If w e n ow m a k e th e sm a ll-a n g le a p p rox im a tio n th a t sin μ
¼ μ , w e g et th e fa m ilia r h a rm o n ic o scilla to r eq u a tio n
d2μ
+ ! 02 μ = 0 (3 )
d t2

358 RESONANCE ¨ April 2009

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q
w ith th e a n g u la r freq u en cy d e¯ n ed a s ! 0 = g = l. T h e
so lu tio n is
μ (t) = μ 0 co s(! 0 t + Á 0 ) ; (4 )
w ith th e a m p litu d e μ 0 a n d p h a se Á 0 o b ta in ed fro m th e
in itia l (o r b o u n d a ry ) co n d itio n s. T h e im p o rta n t p o in t
a b o u t th e so lu tio n is th a t th e freq u en cy is in d ep en d en t
o f th e a m p litu d e 1 , th e v ery d e¯ n itio n o f h a rm o n ic m o - 1
It is interesting to note that the
tio n . frequency is also independent
of the mass of the bob. This is a
N ow let u s see w h a t h a p p en s if w e d o n o t m a k e th e consequence of the equivalence
sm a ll-a n g le a p p rox im a tio n fo r th e resto rin g to rq u e. A principle, also first discovered
T ay lo r series ex p a n sio n fo r th e sin e fu n ctio n a ro u n d μ = by Galileo, which states that the
inertial and gravitational masses
0 y ield s,
of an object are the same, or

μ3 μ5 μ7 that all objects fall with the same

sin μ = μ ¡ + ¡ + :::: (5 ) acceleration under gravity. This
3! 5! 7! forms an important input into
Einstein’s theory of gravity, the
In F igu re 2 , w e co m p a re th e resto rin g to rq u e w ith th e General Theory of Relativity.
p ro p er sin u so id a l d ep en d en ce, a g a in st th e cu rv es if w e
m a k e th e sm a ll-a n g le a p p rox im a tio n (lin ea r resto rin g
to rq u e), a n d if w e in clu d e th e n ex t term in th e T ay lo r
series. J u st th e a d d itio n o f th e μ 3 term m a k es th e cu rv e
a lm o st id en tica l to th e sin e cu rv e u p to a n g les o f a b o u t
1 ra d (5 7 ±). S o w e ca n g et a m u ch b etter d escrip tio n o f
th e m o tio n fo r la rg e a n g les b y in clu d in g th is term in th e

Figure 2. Comparison of the

restoring torque with the
small-angle approximation
(dashed), with the next term
in the Taylor series (dot-
ted), and the actual sinu-
soidal curve (solid). For
simplicity, mgl is taken to
be 1.

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The restoring torque eq u a tio n o f m o tio n . B efo re w e p ro ceed , let u s see w h a t

is smaller than that to ex p ect p h y sica lly b eca u se o f th e a d d itio n o f th is term .
with the linear
T h e cu rv es in F igu re 2 sh ow u s th a t th e resto rin g to rq u e
approximation,
is sm a ller th a n th a t w ith th e lin ea r a p p rox im a tio n , th ere-
fo re w e ex p ect th a t th e tim e p erio d o f o scilla tio n w ill
therefore we expect
in crea se a s th e a m p litu d e in crea ses.
that the time period of
oscillation will L et u s n ow see h ow th is co m es a b o u t m a th em a tica lly.
increase as the W ith th e n ex t term in th e T ay lo r series, th e eq u a tio n o f
amplitude increases. m o tio n w e a re try in g to so lv e is
d2μ 2 ! 02 3
+ ! 0 μ ¡ μ = 0: (6 )
d t2 6
W e ¯ rst n o te th a t th e ex tra term is sm a ll co m p a red to
th e ¯ rst term . T h u s, w e ca n g et a n a p p rox im a te (o r
w h a t is ca lled ¯ rst-o rd er) so lu tio n to th e a b ov e eq u a tio n
b y g u essin g th a t th e m o tio n is still sin u so id a l, b u t w ith
a freq u en cy th a t is n ow a m p litu d e depen den t, i.e.,
μ (t) = μ 0 co s(! t) ;w ith ! = ! (μ 0 ) 6= ! 0 :
S u b stitu tin g o u r g u ess so lu tio n in to th e eq u a tio n o f m o -
tio n g iv es a term lik e co s3 (! t). W e u se th e trig o n o m etric
id en tity
4 co s3 (! t) = co s(3 ! t) + 3 co s(! t) :
T h e a p p rox im a tio n in th e so lu tio n , ca lled th e `secu la r'
a p p rox im a tio n , n ow co m es if w e n eg lect th e fa st-va ry in g
co s(3 ! t) term . T h e ju sti¯ ca tio n fo r th is is th a t th e term
va ries th ree tim es a s ra p id ly a s th e o th er co s(! t) term s,
a n d th erefo re its co n trib u tio n w ill av era g e to zero ov er
a cy cle. W ith th is a p p rox im a tio n , (6 ) y ield s,
à ! à !¡ 1
2 2 μ 02 2 μ 02
! = ! 0 1¡ ¼ ! 0 1+ ; (7 )
The ‘secular’ 8 8
approximation, now w h ere w e h av e u sed th e b in o m ia l ex p a n sio n to g et th e
comes if we neglect seco n d term . T h u s, in term s o f tim e p erio d ,
the fast-varying và !
u 2
u μ
cos(3Z t) term. T = T 0t 1 + 0
; (8 )
8

360 RESONANCE ¨ April 2009

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w ith T 0 = 2 ¼ = ! 0 . T h is sh ow s th a t th e freq u en cy is The frequency is

a m p litu d e d ep en d en t a n d th e tim e p erio d in crea ses w ith
amplitude
a m p litu d e, ex a ctly a s ex p ected fro m p h y sica l a rg u m en ts.
dependent and the
W e h av e th u s fo u n d th is a p p rox im a te so lu tio n b y ¯ rst time period
n o tin g th a t, sin ce th e m o d i¯ ed eq u a tio n o f m o tio n co n - increases with
ta in s a sm a ll `p ertu rb a tio n ' to th e o rig in a l h a rm o n ic- amplitude, exactly
o scilla to r eq u a tio n , th e so lu tio n w ill still b e o scilla to ry, as expected from
b u t w ith a p ertu rb ed freq u en cy. T h en , w e m a d e th e physical
`secu la r' a p p rox im a tio n o f n eg lectin g fa st-va ry in g term s. arguments.
T h is is a g en era l m eth o d th a t ca n b e a p p lied to so lv e
m a n y o th er p ro b lem s w h ere th e p ertu rb a tio n is w ea k .
A m o re d eta iled d eriva tio n o f th is resu lt ca n b e fo u n d
in sev era l tex tb o o k s ([1 ], fo r ex a m p le).
T h e m o tio n in th e a b ov e a n a ly sis, th o u g h n o t h a rm o n ic,
still rem a in s periodic, i.e., th e p en d u lu m retu rn s to ev ery
p o in t in its tra jecto ry b eca u se th ere is n o m ech a n ism b y
w h ich it ca n lo se en erg y. B u t rea l-w o rld o scilla to rs d o
lo se en erg y { th ro u g h frictio n a l d a m p in g . T h is k in d o f
d a m p in g is in tro d u ced in to th e eq u a tio n o f m o tio n b y
a d d in g a term p ro p o rtio n a l to th e (a n g u la r) v elo city :
d2μ b dμ
+ + ! 02 μ = 0 : (9 )
d t2 m dt
F o r sim p licity, w e h av e ig n o red th e a n h a rm o n ic p a rt.
O n e ca n ea sily v erify th a t th e so lu tio n is o f th e fo rm
μ (t) = μ 0 ex p (¡ t= ¿ ) co s(! 0t) ; (1 0 )
i.e., a n a m p litu d e th a t d ecay s ex p o n en tia lly a s th e o scil-
la to r lo ses en erg y, a n d a freq u en cy th a t is slig h tly m o d i-
The pendulum
¯ ed fro m th e u n p ertu rb ed freq u en cy. T h e d a m p in g tim e
returns to every
co n sta n t a n d th e m o d i¯ ed freq u en cy a re g iv en b y :
v point in its
u à !2
2m u b trajectory because
t
¿ = a n d ! 0= ! 02 ¡ :
b 2m there is no
mechanism by
F o r w ea k d a m p in g , i.e. b= 2 m ¿ ! 0 , th e freq u en cy is which it can lose
clo se to th e u n p ertu rb ed va lu e, a n d o n ly th e a m p litu d e energy.
d ecay s slow ly ov er sev era l o scilla tio n s.

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The use of a
L et u s n ow v erify th ese resu lts ex p erim en ta lly.
checknut to attach 3 . E x p e r im e n ta l D e ta ils
the string ensures
an almost ideal T h e a p p a ra tu s req u ired fo r th e ex p erim en t a re: A lea d
point contact. b o b , a strin g o f a p p rox im a tely 1 m len g th , a b o a rd , a
sta n d , a ch eck n u t, a n d a d ig ita l tim er. O n th e b o a rd ,
a n g les fro m 5 ± to 4 5 ± a re m a rk ed a t in terva ls o f 1 ±. T h e
b o b is tied to th e strin g so th a t th e su m o f th e len g th
o f th e strin g , th e ra d iu s o f th e b o b , a n d th e len g th o f
th e h o o k (i.e. th e to ta l len g th o f th e p en d q
u lu m ) is 1 m .
T h is g iv es a ca lcu la ted tim e p erio d o f 2 ¼ l= g = 2 :0 0 7
seco n d s. T h e strin g is ¯ x ed to th e sta n d w ith th e b o a rd
b eh in d it to in d ica te th e a n g le o f th e p en d u lu m . T h e
u se o f a ch eck n u t to a tta ch th e strin g en su res a n a lm o st
id ea l p o in t co n ta ct.
T h e d ig ita l tim er is th e m a in p iece o f eq u ip m en t u sed
to elim in a te h u m a n erro rs in m ea su rin g th e tim e p erio d
o f o scilla tio n s. It w o rk s in th e fo llow in g w ay. T h e d e-
v ice h a s a p h o to sen so r co n sistin g o f a lig h t so u rce a n d a
d etecto r. It is p la ced a t th e m ea n p o sitio n o f th e p en -
d u lu m su ch th a t th e b o b trip s th e d etecto r ev ery tim e it
p a sses th ro u g h th is p o in t. T h e tim er is set su ch th a t it
sta rts m ea su rin g th e ¯ rst in sta n t it is trip p ed , a n d sto p s
a t th e th ird in sta n t it is trip p ed , b y w h ich tim e th e b o b
h a s co m p leted o n e fu ll o scilla tio n . T h e tim er rea d in g
th u s g iv es th e tim e p erio d fo r th e o scilla tio n .
T h e ex p erim en ta l p ro ced u re co n sisted o f sta rtin g th e
p en d u lu m fro m rest a t a g iv en a n g le (m ea su red a g a in st
th e b o a rd ), a n d m ea su rin g th e tim e p erio d fo r o n e o s-
cilla tio n . T h e m ea su rem en t w a s rep ea ted 1 0 tim es, a n d
th e av era g e a n d sta n d a rd d ev ia tio n ca lcu la ted fo r ea ch
set. T h is w a s d o n e fo r a n g les v a ry in g fro m 5 ± to 4 5 ± in
step s o f 5 ±. F ro m F igu re 2 , w e k n ow th a t 4 5 ± is a la rg e
en o u g h a n g le to see th e e® ects o f a n h a rm o n icity.
F o r th e d a m p in g m ea su rem en t, a sm a ll sta rtin g a n g le
o f 2 0 ± w a s u sed so th a t th e co n sta n cy o f tim e p erio d

362 RESONANCE ¨ April 2009

 CLASSROOM

w ith a m p litu d e is a rea so n a b ly g o o d a ssu m p tio n . T h en If we do N

th e to ta l n u m b er o f o scilla tio n s fo r red u cin g th e a m p li-
measurements, then,
tu d e b y 2 ± w a s n o ted , i.e., th e n u m b er o f o scilla tio n s fo r
assuming that the
rea ch in g 1 9 ±, th en 1 7 ±, th en 15 ±, a n d so o n . S in ce th e
errors are distributed
tim e p erio d p er o scilla tio n is co n sta n t, th e n u m b er o f
‘normally’, the error in
o scilla tio n s fo r rea ch in g a certa in a m p litu d e is d irectly
the average is the
rela ted to th e tim e to rea ch th is a m p litu d e, a n d th e
standard deviation of
a m p litu d e v s. n u m b er o f o scilla tio n s sh o u ld sh ow a n ex -
the N points divided
p o n en tia l d ecay a cco rd in g to eq u a tio n (1 0 ). p
by N .
4 . R e su lts a n d D isc u ssio n
T h e resu lts o f th e tim e p erio d v s. a n g le a re sh ow n in
F igu re 3 . E a ch p o in t o n th e g ra p h (so lid circle) rep -
resen ts th e av era g e o f 1 0 in d iv id u a l m ea su rem en ts. If
w e d o N m ea su rem en ts, th en , a ssu m in g th a t th e erro rs
a re d istrib u ted `n o rm a lly ', th e erro r in th e av era
p g e is th e
sta n d a rd d ev ia tio n o f th e N p oin ts d iv id ed b y N . T h is
is h ow th e erro r in ea ch m ea su red p o in t is eva lu a ted . It
is sh ow n o n th e g ra p h a s a v ertica l `erro r b a r' o n ea ch
p o in t, w h ich g iv es a n id ea o f h ow m u ch ex p erim en ta l
u n certa in ty th ere is in th a t valu e.

Figure 3. Increase of time

period of oscillation with
amplitude. The measured
time period is plotted as a
function of starting angle
of the pendulum (filled
circles). The solid curve is
a fit to equation (8) with the
fit residuals shown on top
as open circles. The verti-
cal error bars and fitting
procedure are explained in
the text.

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T0 is not an T h e m ea su red tim e p erio d in crea ses w ith a m p litu d e, a s

‘adjustable’ parameter w e ex p ected fro m o u r th eo retica l a n a ly sis. N ow w e h av e
in our theory, but just
to see if th e m ea su red b eh av io u r m a tch es th e th eo reti-
a scale parameter
ca l p red ictio n d eriv ed in (8 ). F o r th is, w e h av e to d o a
`cu rv e ¯ t' to th e ex p ressio n , w h ich m ea n s th a t w e h av e
that depends on the
to a d ju st a few ¯ t p a ra m eters so th a t th e ca lcu la ted tim e
pendulum length and
p erio d a t ea ch a m p litu d e m a tch es th e m ea su red o n e as
the local acceleration
best as possible. O n e w ay to m a th em a tica lly d e¯ n e th is
due to gravity.
term `a s b est a s p o ssib le' is to m in im ize th e su m o f th e
sq u a res o f th e d ev ia tio n b etw een th e m ea su rem en t a n d
ca lcu la tio n , th e so -ca lled lea st sq u a res ¯ ttin g . T h e so lid
cu rv e in th e g ra p h is p recisely th is k in d o f lea st-sq u a res
¯ t, u sin g th e th eo retica l ex p ressio n in (8 ). It m a tch es
th e m ea su red d a ta q u ite w ell. T h e o n ly ¯ t p a ra m eter in
th e eq u a tio n is T 0 , a n d th e b est ¯ t is o b ta in ed w ith a
va lu e o f T 0 = 2 :0 0 8 7 § 0 :0 0 0 6 s, v ery clo se to o u r `d e-
sig n ' va lu e o f 2 .0 0 7 s. N o te th a t T 0 is n o t a n `a d ju sta b le'
p a ra m eter in o u r th eo ry, b u t ju st a sca le p a ra m eter th a t
d ep en d s o n th e p en d u lu m len g th a n d th e lo ca l a ccelera -
tio n d u e to g rav ity. A d i® eren t p en d u lu m a t a d i® eren t
lo ca tio n w ill h av e a d i® eren t T 0 , b u t th e d ep en d en ce o f
T o n a m p litu d e w ill still b e th a t g iv en b y (8 ). T h u s a n y
a d ju stm en t o f T 0 w ill n o t ch a n g e th e sh a p e o f th e cu rv e
in F igu re 3 , b u t o n ly m ov e it u p o r d ow n . T h e fa ct th a t
th e ex p erim en t m a tch es th eo ry sh ow s th a t w e h av e a n -
a ly zed th e p ro b lem co rrectly a n d d o n e th e ex p erim en t
w ith o u t serio u s erro rs.
F in a lly, w e ex p ect th e th eo ry to m a tch th e m ea su red va l-
u es o n ly w ith in th e ex p erim en ta l u n certa in ty. In o th er
w o rd s, th e ¯ tted cu rv e is ex p ected to p a ss th ro u g h n o t
ea ch p o in t b u t o n ly th e v ertica l erro r b a r a ro u n d it. T h e
resid u a ls sh ow n o n to p o f th e g ra p h (o p en circles) g iv e
th e d i® eren ce b etw een th e m ea su red va lu e a n d th e ¯ t-
ted va lu e. T h ese sh o u ld b e sm a ller th a n th e erro r b a rs,
a n d ra n d o m if th e erro rs a re ra n d o m (n o t `sy stem a tic').
T h is is in d eed w h a t w e o b serv e.
N ow w e tu rn to th e seco n d m ea su rem en t, n a m ely d a m p -

364 RESONANCE ¨ April 2009

 CLASSROOM

Figure 4. Decay of ampli-

tude due to damping. The
amplitude of the pendulum
after a certain number of
oscillations is shown as
filled circles. The solid
curve is a fit to (10) and the
fit residuals are shown on
top.

in g o f th e p en d u lu m . In F igure 4 , w e sh ow th e a m p li-
tu d e a s a fu n ctio n o f th e n u m b er o f o scilla tio n s. T h e
erro r h ere is d eterm in ed n o t b y ta k in g th e sta tistica l
av era g e o f m a n y m ea su rem en ts, b u t b y n o tin g th a t th e
d eterm in a tio n o f th e a n g le a g a in st th e b o a rd is su b ject
to erro r. S in ce th e `lea st co u n t' o f th e m a rk in g s is 1 ±, w e
ca n ex p ect th a t th e erro r w ill a t m o st b e § 0 :5 ± a ro u n d
ea ch a n g le. T h is is th e size o f th e v ertica l erro r b a rs in
th e g ra p h . A s b efo re, th e so lid cu rv e is a ¯ t to th e ex -
p o n en tia l d ecay p red icted b y (1 0 ). In th is ca se, th e ¯ t
p a ra m eters a re th e in itia l a m p litu d e a n d th e d a m p in g
co n sta n t. T h e b est ¯ t va lu es are:

μ 0 = 1 9 :2 § 0 :3 a n d n ¿ = 1 0 8 § 4 ;

w h ich m ea n s th a t it ta k es a b o u t 1 0 8 o scilla tio n s fo r th e

a m p litu d e to d a m p to 1 = e o f its sta rtin g va lu e, sh ow in g
th a t th e d a m p in g is in d eed w ea k . T h e ¯ t resid u a ls o n
to p a re o f o rd er 0 :5 ±, a s ex p ected fro m o u r erro r b a rs,
a n d a re ra n d o m ly d istrib u ted .

RESONANCE ¨ April 2009 365

 CLASSROOM

5 . C o n c lu sio n s
These kinds of
simple experiments In su m m a ry, w e h av e seen th a t th e `sim p le' p en d u lu m
teach us about ca n tea ch u s tw o im p o rta n t fea tu res o f rea l-w o rld o scil-
measurement errors la to rs, n a m ely a n h a rm o n icity a n d d a m p in g . T h eo retica l
and curve fitting to a n a ly sis o f th e m o tio n b ey o n d th e sm a ll-a n g le a p p rox -
theoretical im a tio n (h a rm o n ic reg im e) sh ow s th a t th e tim e p erio d
expressions. in crea ses w ith a m p litu d e d u e to th e red u ced resto rin g
to rq u e. A n d th e p resen ce o f frictio n , ev en in th e h a r-
m o n ic reg im e, ca u ses th e a m p litu d e to d ecay ex p o n en -
tia lly. A sim p le ex p erim en ta l set-u p w a s u sed to v erify
th ese resu lts. T h e m ea su red tim e p erio d u p to a sta rtin g
a n g le o f 4 5 ± fo llow s th e th eo retica l p red ictio n w ith in th e
ex p erim en ta l u n certa in ty. F o r sm a ll-a n g le o scilla tio n s,
th e a m p litu d e d a m p s ex p o n en tia lly, ex a ctly a s ex p ected .
T h ese k in d s o f sim p le ex p erim en ts tea ch u s a b o u t m ea -
su rem en t erro rs a n d cu rv e ¯ ttin g to th eo retica l ex p res-
sio n s.
A c k n o w le d g e m e n ts
H P K th a n k s H R M a d h u su d a n a o f B a n g a lo re A sso cia -
tio n fo r S cien ce E d u ca tio n , J aw a h a rla l N eh ru P la n eta r-
iu m , fo r h elp in co n d u ctin g th e ex p erim en ts.

Suggested Reading

[1] V V Migulin, V Medvedev, E Mustel, and V Parygn, Basic Theory of

Oscillations, Mir Publishers, Moscow, 1983.

366 RESONANCE ¨ April 2009