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<\/p>\nThe Science of it: Pendulum Swings – Physics Month at the Orlando Science Center<\/p>\n
The Science of it: Pendulum Swings – Physics Month at the Orlando Science Center<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMAY IS PHYSICS MONTH AT THE ORLANDO SCIENCE CENTER, AND THIS WEEK WE\u2019RE COMBINING SCIENCE WITH ART. GOOD STUFF. AND AS WESH 2\u2019S MARQUISE MEDA SHOWS US, YOU DON\u2019T NEED A STEADY HAND TO PAINT SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL. YOU JUST NEED A FEW SIMPLE TOOLS. WHAT\u2019S HAPPENING YOU GUYS? AND HAPPY MONDAY. WELCOME BACK TO THE ORLANDO SCIENCE CENTER THIS MONTH AT OSC, WE\u2019RE HIGHLIGHTING PHYSICS MONTH. AND WHAT BETTER TO LEARN A LESSON ABOUT PHYSICS IN REGARDS TO PAINTS AND PENDULUM SWINGS, RIGHT? YES, EXACTLY. WE\u2019RE GOING TO DO A LITTLE BIT OF SOME MESSY SCIENCE. THIS IS OUR PAINT PENDULUM. NORMALLY IT WOULD HAVE A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT PAINTINGS ON THE GROUND AND MAKE A LARGE TAPESTRY. TODAY WE\u2019RE GOING TO DO SOME PLEXI GLASS PAINTING, LEARNING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PHYSICS. WE\u2019RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND START OUR ACTIVITY IN THREE, TWO, ONE. SO OUR PENDULUM AS IT SWINGS IS GOING TO START FORMING THIS GEOMETRIC PATTERN, THIS PATTERN THAT YOU SEE HERE ON OUR CANVAS AND ON OUR PLEXI GLASS, IS KNOWN AS A LISSAJOUS CURVE. THIS IS LISSAJOUS CURVE IS MEASURING THE SWING OF THIS PENDULUM. ON A 2D PLANE. YOU CAN SEE RIGHT THERE AS IT\u2019S STARTING TO FORM. HOWEVER, WE ARE LOSING MASS. WE ARE LOSING PAINT, AND AS WE LOSE THAT PAINT, WE ARE ACTUALLY DESCENDING. YOU CAN SEE THIS CURVE IS SHRINKING INWARDS. THE REASON IT\u2019S SHRINKING INWARDS IS BECAUSE OF THAT LOSS OF MASS. IT IS LOSING INERTIA AND MOMENTUM. IT\u2019S ALSO DUE TO THE FRICTION AS THIS PENDULUM IS SWINGING THROUGH THE AIR, IT IS PUSHING AGAINST THOSE MOLECULES, AND THOSE MOLECULES ARE PUSHING BACK AGAINST IT. SO WE\u2019RE GOING TO GET THIS DESCENDING LISSAJOUS CURVE. THIS IS PERFECT GEOMETRY IN PHYSICS IN MOTION, AND IT CREATES A PRETTY COOL PRODUCT ALONG THE WAY. SO WE\u2019RE GOING TO SEE IT FILL OUT OUR PAINT PENDULUM ON THE PLEXIGLASS. AND WE\u2019RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO LET THIS DRY AND HAVE A COOL, CLEAR 3D PAINTING. YEAH. WHO KNEW MATH COULD BE SO BEAUTIFUL. EXACTLY RIGHT. SO IT\u2019S A PERFECT WAY TO GET GEOMETRY INVOLVED IN ART. YOU SEE, ARTISTS DO THIS ALL THE TIME ON THE INTERNET, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THE OVAL OF THE PENDULUM IS ACTUALLY ROTATING AROUND THIS CENTER AXIS. THAT\u2019S BECAUSE THIS IS A 1 TO 1 PENDULUM. THE FULL LENGTH OF THE PENDULUM IS THE SAME LENGTH ON THE X AXIS AS IT IS THE Y AXIS. LET\u2019S SAY AT THE HALFWAY POINT OF THIS PENDULUM, I HAD IT SPLIT IN TWO. THAT MEANS ONE AXIS WOULD ACTUALLY BE LONGER THAN THE OTHER, AND IT WOULD ACTUALLY CREATE A FULLY DIFFERENT PATTERN. BUT THIS IS YOUR MOST SIMPLE DESCENDING LISSAJOUS CURVE. YOU CAN ALSO SEE A POINT WHERE IT\u2019S ACTUALLY GETTING A LOT TIGHTER, WHERE THE BOUNDS, THE RINGS ESSENTIALLY ARE GETTING A LOT CLOSER. THAT IS THE LAGRANGE POINT OF THIS IS THE POINT WHERE THOSE OVALS X AND Y AXIS ARE ROTATING AROUND. THAT\u2019S THE FOCAL POINT OF THIS PAINTING. IT\u2019S COOL TO NOTICE THAT NOT ONLY IS THE THE BOTTLE OF PAINT ITSELF REVOLVING AROUND AN AXIS, ITSELF. YEAH, EXACTLY. THAT\u2019S BECAUSE OUR ROPE HERE IS A TYPICAL SPUN ROPE. AND SO IT\u2019S GOING TO HAVE SOME TWIST TO IT ALL. THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF MAY. WE\u2019RE HIGHLIGHTING PHYSICS MONTH AND I CAN\u2019T WAIT TO SEE ALL OF YOU GUYS FACES RIGHT HERE. IT\u2019S BEAUTIFUL. I NEED TO SEE THE FINISHED PRODUCT. RIGHT. OKAY. WE\u2019RE GONNA HAVE TO GET A FOLLOW UP THERE. YOU CAN CHE\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
The Science of it: Pendulum Swings – Physics Month at the Orlando Science Center<\/p>\n
The Science of it: Pendulum Swings – Physics Month at the Orlando Science Center<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\tUpdated: 4:49 PM EDT May 13, 2026\n\t\t<\/p>\n