Foucault showed the rotation of the earth by his fundamental pendulum experiment. In the classroom the experiment is usually simulated by a gravitational pendulum on a rotating turntable. By this the situation on the poles of the earth may be simulated, but it is impossible to investigate the dependency on geographical latitude. If we simulate the Foucault pendulum by an elastic steel wire pendulum we get the opportunity to show the entire effect, inclusive of the dependency on geographical latitude.
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© 1979 American Association of Physics Teachers.
1979
American Association of Physics Teachers
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