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Sally Ride 1951–2012

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Standing waves on a string

A simple pendulum?

Experiments with a simple pendulum feature in many physics courses. But the physics is really not that simple…

The terms in bold link to topics in the AQA, Edexcel, OCR, WJEC and CCEA A-level specifications, as well as the IB, Pre-U and SQA exam specifications.

This article explores the simple harmonic motion of a pendulum using the small-angle approximation for angles in radians, discusses the assumptions usually made, and shows how the string’s moment of inertia affects the motion.

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Previous

Sally Ride 1951–2012

Next

Standing waves on a string

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