Google Doodle: Foucault's Pendulum

Google ^ | September 18, 2013 | Google

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

I don't know if everyone has seen this one, from Wednesday. I thought is was particularly clever. And amusing! The period of the pendulum (timed by my watch) is close to the 16.4 second period of Foucault's pendulum in the Panthéon in Paris.

There is a clock face and a globe to the right of the pendulum. If you click on either one, a pair of sliders appears. Moving the slider above the clock moves the hands of the clock through 24 hours. Moving the slider above the globe moves the latitude of the pendulum between -90 degrees and +90 degrees.

The state of the pegs in the illustration, either erect or toppled, and the plane of the pendulum's swing is controlled by the setting of the sliders. Initially, at midnight, the Pendulum swings left-right-left-right in the plane of your monitor. Depending on the latitude of the Pendulum, the plane of the pendulum's swing "precesses", that is gently rotates, clockwise in the Northern hemisphere, counterclockwise in the Southern hemisphere. If you set the latitude alternately to the North and South Pole and move the clock face through 24 hours, you can see the effect.

If you move the latitude to the equator, none of the pegs will topple, regardless of the time and the plane of the pendulum's swing does not change.

Enjoy!

See also: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02675/Google-Doodle-Fouc_2675141b.jpg

[count-your-change]

It must be very lonesome in Massachusetts.

[Focault's Pendulum]

You rang?

[Hegewisch Dupa]

It is one of the more clever ones they put up in a while!

[zeugma]

I agree. Very clever. I sent the link out to several people when I saw the doodle on Wed. Great for kids to use to visualize the science of it.