Pendulum Lab

Measure period and explore pendulum dynamics

A simple pendulum oscillates with period T = 2π√(L/g) for small angles (< 15°). The period depends only on length and gravity — not on mass or amplitude (for small angles). Large angles cause the true period to exceed this formula. On the Moon (g = 1.6 m/s²), the same pendulum would oscillate ~2.5× slower. Pendulums were historically used as precision timekeepers because of this mass-independence.