Next message: Gary J. LaPook: "Re: Timing Lunars with a Rock"
On Mon, 18 Jul 2005, Bruce Stark wrote:
> But It seems to me a simple string-and-weight pendulum
> would swing a shorter distance each beat,
> while the time of each swing would
> remain the same.
This is not exactly true but only approximately.
The time of very small swings is approximately the same.
The time of large swings depends on the amplitude
(span of the swings).
A
P.S. In an early attempt to solve
the problem of longitude by constructing a
decent clock, Huygens invented the so-called
"tautochronous pendulum"
whose periods are independent on the amplitude.
But this tautochronous pendulum has other disadvantages.
