Topic: Oscillations

Question

It's the year 2467 and you pilot your spaceship to a moon where the acceleration at the surface due to gravity has a magnitude of 3.09 m/s². You have a penchant for antique pendulum clocks. If your clock runs on a simple pendulum, how long must it be so that it correctly ticks off each second?

Answer 1

The equation for a simple pendulum is 2π /T = √(g/L), 2π /(1 s) = √ (3.09 m/s² / L), 4π² = 3.09 / L, L = 3.09 / 4π² = 0.0783 m = 7.83 cm. [on Earth, L = 9.81 / 4π² = 24.8 cm ≅ 1/4 meter]