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⏰ Pendulum Lab
Objective: Explore the physics of pendulums — from simple harmonic motion to chaotic double pendulums. Adjust parameters and observe energy conservation and chaotic behavior.
Controls:
- Click and drag a pendulum bob to set initial angle or give it a push
- Adjust Length slider to change pendulum arm length
- Adjust Mass slider to change bob mass
- Adjust Damping to add air resistance (lower = more damping)
- Adjust Gravity slider to change gravitational acceleration
- Toggle Trace to see the pendulum path over time
- Pause button or P key to freeze simulation
- Single: simple pendulum | Double: chaotic double | Triple: chaotic triple | Wave: coupled wave pendulums | Chaos: 5 double pendulums
Rules: This is a sandbox — experiment freely! Single pendulums show simple harmonic motion. Double pendulums exhibit chaotic behavior sensitive to initial conditions. The energy graph shows kinetic (KE), potential (PE), and total energy. In a closed system with no damping, total energy is conserved.
Experiment with pendulum physics. Adjust length, weight and angle to observe swing patterns. Educational simulation that demonstrates harmonic motion principles.
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