Modern MEMs gyros/accelerometers allow the angular velocity of pendula to be precisely measured and the angular acceleration to be calculated. For a compound pendulum, "I"[subscript p][umlaut over theta]=-"mga" sin[theta]Ip[umlaut over theta]=-mgasin[theta], where "a" is the distance of the center of mass from the…

The variation of the period of oscillation of a pendulum with the amplitude is known as "circular error" to clockmakers, and can easily be observed even without modern laboratory instruments. There have therefore been many approximate formulae for the pendulum period as a function of the amplitude, but the simple equation due to Denman,…

The toppling motion of falling chimney stacks has been the subject of a number of studies which address the interesting phenomenon that brick chimneys usually break well before they hit the ground. Modern concrete chimneys, and wind generator towers, however, are strong enough to topple without breaking and many videos of their destruction are…

Oscillatory motion with damping proportional to the velocity is part of all upper-class physics courses and some introductory courses; however, the emphasis is primarily on the free amplitude decay. Microelectromechanical (MEMs) accelerometers allow the acceleration to be directly measured and the velocity and displacement to be derived from it.…

The advantages of deriving the coefficient of kinematic friction from measurements of the damping of oscillatory motion have recently been described. The measurement of the acceleration rather than displacement has the advantage that, as well as the linear amplitude decay, the acceleration discontinuities due to the friction reversal can be…

MEMs gyros, such as those in smartphones allow the angular velocity of pendulums to be precisely measured at large angles, and phase plots of the angular acceleration versus the angular displacement confirm that [double dot][phi] = -[omega][superscript 2][subscript o] sin[phi] even for the non-sinusoidal motion at amplitude [phi][subscript o]…

Examples of the application of compound pendulum theory to the practical measurement of the moments of inertia of human beings, farm tractors, and sailing boats are presented. Suggests developing laboratory experiments to measure moments of inertia of hockey sticks, golf clubs, and frisbees, among others. (Author/SK)