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maverick280857
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Homework Statement
How can one determine from a straight line plot, the value of g (acceleration due to gravity) and k (radius of gyration) of a bar pendulum?
Homework Equations
The time period of a bar pendulum is given by
[tex]T = 2\pi\sqrt{\frac{I}{Mgd}}[/tex]
[tex]I = I_{0} + Md^2[/tex]
where I is the moment of inertia about an axis passing through the pivot, d is the distance between the center of mass and the pivot, M is the mass of the rod.
In an experimental setup, we are varying d and measuring T for every chosen d.
The Attempt at a Solution
Also,
[tex]I_{0} = Mk^2[/tex]
So,
[tex]I = M(k^2 + d^2)[/tex]
Hence,
[tex]T = 2\pi\sqrt{\frac{k^2 + d^2}{gd}}[/tex]
For a fixed value of T, there are two values of d, and
[tex]d_{1} + d_{2} = \frac{4\pi^2(d_{1} + d_{2})}{T^2}[/tex]
and
[tex]d_{1}d_{2} = k^2[/tex]
But which straight line plot yields k and g? I can see that if k >> d, then we can say that T^2 is proportional to 1/d, but this would be a gross approximation, valid only for points very close to the center of mass.
Thanks
Cheers
vivek