The ballistic pendulum apparatus is a fairly ubiquitous element of the introductory physics laboratory, as the pendulum and launcher gun can be used together or independently to demonstrate a variety of concepts from conservation laws to projectile motion to the motion of a physical pendulum. In this work, we control the launch speed of the gun to determine the moment of inertia of the pendulum’s arm.
References
1.
T. R.
Sandin
, “Nonconservation of linear momentum in ballistic pendulums
,” Am. J. Phys.
41
, 426
–427
(March
1973
).2.
Enos
Wicher
, “Ballistics pendulum
,” Am. J. Phys.
45
, 681
–682
(June
1977
).3.
G.
Barnes
, “Addition to the ballistic pendulum experiment
,” Am. J. Phys.
25
, 452
–453
(June
1957
).4.
William S.
Wagner
, “The spring gun ballistic pendulum: An alternate method for finding the initial velocity
,” Am. J. Phys.
53
, 1114
–1115
(Nov.
1985
).© 2020 American Association of Physics Teachers.
2020
American Association of Physics Teachers
AAPT members receive access to The Physics Teacher and the American Journal of Physics as a member benefit. To learn more about this member benefit and becoming an AAPT member, visit the Joining AAPT page.