simple pendulum

American  

noun

Physics.

1. a hypothetical apparatus consisting of a point mass suspended from a weightless, frictionless thread whose length is constant, the motion of the body about the string being periodic and, if the angle of deviation from the original equilibrium position is small, representing simple harmonic motion (distinguished from physical pendulum).

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Example Sentences

Examples should include gravitational force exerted by the Earth on a simple pendulum and a mass-spring oscillator.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

A great complexity of surface activity, but all happening as a result of the tick-tock of a simple pendulum.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin

The simple pendulum would be set swinging by the varying attraction and from its amplitude after a known number of swings of the outside pendulums G could be found.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 4 "Grasshopper" to "Greek Language" by Various

Basis of theory is the simple pendulum, whose time of swing under gravity is proportional to the square root of the length divided by the acceleration due to gravity.

From Development of Gravity Pendulums in the 19th Century Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, Papers 34-44 On Science and Technology, Smithsonian Institution, 1966 by Lenzen, Victor Fritz

The lamp was only a rough approximation to a simple pendulum, but Galileo later performed more accurate experiments with a “simple” pendulum which consisted of a heavy ball suspended by a cord.

From Development of Gravity Pendulums in the 19th Century Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, Papers 34-44 On Science and Technology, Smithsonian Institution, 1966 by Lenzen, Victor Fritz