Simple pendulum, a conical pendulum and a compound pendulum?

[Reshma]

What is difference between a simple pendulum, a conical pendulum and a compound pendulum? In which category does a Foucault's pendulum fall in?

 

[dextercioby]

What is difference between a simple pendulum, a conical pendulum and a compound pendulum? In which category does a Foucault's pendulum fall in?

A simple pendulum is also called "mathematical pendulum" and is made up of a rod (ideal,rigid and massless) of length "l" and a small object of mass "m" at one end.The other end of the rod is suspended on a ceiling and the entire system is free to oscillate in one vertical PLANE wrt to Earths surface.

A conical pendulum is also called a spherical pendulum is basically made from the same elements as the simple pendulum,but it is FREE TO MOVE in ALL POSSIBLE DIRECTIONS,not only in one particular vertical plane.The object/bob is moving on a portion of sphere of radiuls "l",while the rod is free to move within a soild angle of a cone.

A compound pendulum is made up of a various number of ideal rods and bobs and can be thought as a generalization of the simple pedulum.

As for a Foucault pendulum,well it's a simple pendulum in Earths gravitational field,ROTATING EARTH THAT IS.More u can read http://www.abc.net.au/surf/pendulum/pendulum.htm#what [Broken]

Daniel.

 

[Reshma]

Thanks for the help!