Where's my mistake? (Pendulum with gravity)

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The discussion revolves around the analysis of a pendulum's motion under gravitational forces, where the user attempts to derive equations for the pendulum's position and acceleration. They identify a mistake in their calculations, specifically forgetting to square the denominator in their equations, which leads to an incorrect conclusion that implies gravitational acceleration equals the radius. The user expresses embarrassment over the algebraic error and seeks to delete the thread, but others encourage leaving it for educational purposes. Additionally, a clarification is made regarding the centripetal force, indicating that tension should not be used as the sole centripetal force. The conversation highlights the importance of careful mathematical checks and learning from mistakes.
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I have a pendulum and an object with radius "R" and mass "m". There are forces: constant gravitational acceleration and tension on the rope. I can write:
$$x=R sin(\theta) \ \ y=R cos(\theta)$$
$$\dot{x}=R\dot{\theta}cos(\theta) \ \ \dot{y}=-R\dot{\theta}sin(\theta)$$
$$\ddot{x}=R\ddot{\theta}cos(\theta)-R{\dot{\theta}}^{2}sin(\theta)\ \ \ (1)$$
$$\ddot{y}=-R\ddot{\theta}sin(\theta)-R{\dot{\theta}}^{2}cos(\theta)\ \ \ (2)$$
$$a=\frac{T}{m}=\frac{{\dot{x}}^{2}+{\dot{y}}^{2}}{R}={\dot{\theta}}^{2}R\ \ \ (3)$$
$$R\ddot{\theta}cos(\theta)-R{\dot{\theta}}^{2}sin(\theta)=\frac{T}{m}sin(\theta)={\dot{\theta}}^{2}Rsin(\theta)$$
Combine (1) and (3).
$$\ddot{\theta}cos(\theta)-{\dot{\theta}}^{2}sin(\theta)={\dot{\theta}}^{2}sin(\theta)$$
$$tan(\theta)=\frac{\ddot{\theta}}{2{\dot{\theta}}^{2}}\ \ \ (4)$$
Combine (2) and (3).
$$-R\ddot{\theta}sin(\theta)-R{\dot{\theta}}^{2}cos(\theta)=\frac{T}{m}cos(\theta)-g=R{\dot{\theta}}^{2}cos(\theta)-g$$
Find tan(θ) and equate to (4).
$$tan(\theta)=-\frac{2{\dot{\theta}}^{2}}{\ddot{\theta}}+\frac{g}{cos(\theta)R\ddot{\theta}}=\frac{\ddot{\theta}}{2{\dot{\theta}}^{2}}\ \ \ (5)$$
$$cos(\theta)=\frac{2{\dot{\theta}}^{2}g}{R({\ddot{\theta}}^{2}+4{\dot{\theta}}^{4})}\ \ \ and\ \ \ y=\frac{2{\dot{\theta}}^{2}g}{({\ddot{\theta}}^{2}+4{\dot{\theta}}^{4})}\ \ \ (6)$$
From (4).
$$cot(\theta)=\frac{2{\dot{\theta}}^{2}}{\ddot{\theta}}\ \ \ (7)$$
Combine (2) and (3).
$$-R\ddot{\theta}sin(\theta)-R{\dot{\theta}}^{2}cos(\theta)=\frac{T}{m}cos(\theta)-g=R{\dot{\theta}}^{2}cos(\theta)-g$$
Find cot(θ) and equate to (7).
$$cot(\theta)=\frac{g}{2sin(\theta){\dot{\theta}}^{2}{R}}-\frac{\ddot{\theta}}{2{\dot{\theta}}^{2}}=\frac{2{\dot{\theta}}^{2}}{\ddot{\theta}}\ \ \ (8)$$
$$sin(\theta)=\frac{\ddot{\theta}g}{(4{\dot{\theta}}^{4}+{\ddot{\theta}}^{2})R}\ \ \ and \ \ \ x=\frac{\ddot{\theta}g}{(4{\dot{\theta}}^{4}+{\ddot{\theta}}^{2})}\ \ \ (9)$$
So from (6) and (9).
$$x^{2}+y^{2}=g^{2}$$
But that doesn't make sense. There must be a mistake. How does
$$g=R$$
have to be hold?
 
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Check the units of each expression you have written and you will find your error where they do not match. Do this always. I am terrible at Algebra.
 
That's too embarassing. I forgot to square the denominator. Forgive me for wasting your time :(
 
Efeguleroglu said:
That's too embarassing. I forgot to square the denominator. Forgive me for wasting your time :(
Efeguleroglu said:
That's too embarassing. I forgot to square the denominator. Forgive me for wasting your time :(
Not a waste if you develop good habits! Glad I could help.
 
How will I delete this thread?
 
Efeguleroglu said:
How will I delete this thread?

it's left there ... some one else may learn from it :smile:
 
I wrote
$$a_c=\frac{T}{m}$$
But it must be equal to
$$a_c=\frac{T+mgcos(\theta)}{m}$$
Actually I mistakenly used T as the centripetal force. It can easily be replaced. I just wanted to fix that.
 
Efeguleroglu said:
That's too embarassing. I forgot to square the denominator. Forgive me for wasting your time :(
Hi, @Efeguleroglu, I haven't checked the math, but I just want to say that "to err is human." I've done plenty of mistakes during the years, and I still do, though I hope the frequency has been reduced :smile:. And errors and failures are excellent learning opportunities!
 
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