Google's new Foucault doodle...

KapellmeisterKapellmeister Posts: 41,322
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I don't get it

:confused:
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  • phylo_roadkingphylo_roadking Posts: 21,339
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    Not know what Foucault's Pendulum is???

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foucault_pendulum
  • gold2040gold2040 Posts: 3,049
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    Foucault's Pendulum
    The Foucault pendulum (English pronunciation: /fuːˈkoʊ/ foo-koh; French pronunciation: ​[fuˈko]), or Foucault's pendulum, named after the French physicist Léon Foucault, is a simple device conceived as an experiment to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth. While it had long been known that the Earth rotated, the introduction of the Foucault pendulum in 1851 was the first simple proof of the rotation in an easy-to-see experiment. Today, Foucault pendulums are popular displays in science museums and universities.
  • KapellmeisterKapellmeister Posts: 41,322
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    Not know what Foucault's Pendulum is???

    Yes, but what do the controls do?
  • phylo_roadkingphylo_roadking Posts: 21,339
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    Move them and see!
  • KapellmeisterKapellmeister Posts: 41,322
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    Move them and see!

    I did, and the pendulum just spun around really quickly :confused:
  • phylo_roadkingphylo_roadking Posts: 21,339
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    Move them in relation to each other and watch the "swing" of the pendulum change and knock down the little pegs that appear around the edge of the circle.
  • KapellmeisterKapellmeister Posts: 41,322
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    Move them in relation to each other and watch the "swing" of the pendulum change and knock down the little pegs that appear around the edge of the circle.

    :(

    It's an epic fail, IMO, especially in comparison to the Roswell one where you had to help the little alien find his spaceship.
  • DomestosDomestos Posts: 7,014
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    :(

    It's an epic fail, IMO, especially in comparison to the Roswell one where you had to help the little alien find his spaceship.

    Epic fail because you don't understand basic physics?
  • Bex_123Bex_123 Posts: 10,783
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    :(

    It's an epic fail, IMO,
    especially in comparison to the Roswell one where you had to help the little alien find his spaceship.

    LOL :D

    Sorry, that's hilarious.
  • BerBer Posts: 24,562
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    Domestos wrote: »
    Epic fail because you don't understand basic physics?

    I know Foucault about it too:(

    (Mine is the black jacket with the hood on the end peg)
  • KJ44KJ44 Posts: 38,093
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    Yes, but what do the controls do?

    IIRC, a pendulum at the North Pole swings in a fixed arc, as the Earth rotates beneath it, whereas one at the Equator does something different.

    Hence controls to vary the time of day and the latitude.

    *** plays ***

    Starting at 30 degrees latitude, the closer to the Equator, the fewer pegs are knocked over, at the Equator only 2 are knocked over ... at 30 degrees latitude all are knocked over once per day , at the poles, the pegs would be knocked over twice per day were someone to stand them up.

    EDIT: I think 30 degrees is the latitude at which it rotates through half a circle :o
  • KJ44KJ44 Posts: 38,093
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    Domestos wrote: »
    Epic fail because you don't understand basic physics?

    Indeed, I can never get my head around how it behaves, so the simulation is most instructive.
  • Miss XYZMiss XYZ Posts: 14,023
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    It's just a swinging pendulum isn't it? I know it changes direction when you move the control things but I'm not gonna pretend to understand the Science. If that means I'm thick then so be it. :o
  • KJ44KJ44 Posts: 38,093
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    Miss XYZ wrote: »
    It's just a swinging pendulum isn't it? I know it changes direction when you move the control things but I'm not gonna pretend to understand the Science. If that means I'm thick then so be it. :o

    I wrote what happens two posts above yours.

    Don't dismiss yourself as thick so readily! If it's not your cup of tea fair enough, but if you're curious, patient and methodical, you can see the pattern in what happens. :)
  • Bex_123Bex_123 Posts: 10,783
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    Miss XYZ wrote: »
    It's just a swinging pendulum isn't it? I know it changes direction when you move the control things but I'm not gonna pretend to understand the Science. If that means I'm thick then so be it. :o

    Not thick :) I cannot get my head around such things easily at all.

    Someone dismissing it as an 'epic fail' is an epic fail though.
  • OhWhenTheSaintsOhWhenTheSaints Posts: 12,531
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    Miss XYZ wrote: »
    It's just a swinging pendulum isn't it? I know it changes direction when you move the control things but I'm not gonna pretend to understand the Science. If that means I'm thick then so be it. :o

    You're not thick, I keep telling you! :p
  • njpnjp Posts: 27,583
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    Ber wrote: »
    I know Foucault about it too:(

    (Mine is the black jacket with the hood on the end peg)
    In the absence of a "like" button, I would just like to express my appreciation of this joke.

    That is all.
  • KapellmeisterKapellmeister Posts: 41,322
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    Bex_123 wrote: »
    Not thick :) I cannot get my head around such things easily at all.

    Someone dismissing it as an 'epic fail' is an epic fail though.

    It is though. As others have said, it's just a pendulum swinging around. Big deal. It teaches you absolutely nothing about the principles involved.
  • Jane Doh!Jane Doh! Posts: 43,307
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    :(

    It's an epic fail, IMO, especially in comparison to the Roswell one where you had to help the little alien find his spaceship.

    :D:D:D
  • VoynichVoynich Posts: 14,481
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    It is though. As others have said, it's just a pendulum swinging around. Big deal. It teaches you absolutely nothing about the principles involved.

    It's only a doodle to mark Léon Foucault's birthday. If you want to find out about the principles involved then 'google it' as they say.


    http://lmgtfy.com/?q=leon+foucault+pendulum+experiment
  • njpnjp Posts: 27,583
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    It is though. As others have said, it's just a pendulum swinging around. Big deal. It teaches you absolutely nothing about the principles involved.
    What is it you want to learn? Other resources are available, you know - and you can even use google to find them!

    It's just a celebration of the now rather elderly Mr Foucault's birthday, that shows you how a real life pendulum set swinging at a particular latitude would behave over time. If you manage to set it exactly at the equator, you will see that no pegs are knocked down as time passes, because the plane of oscillation remains fixed.

    It's good. And it's real (unlike Roswell aliens).
  • vosnevosne Posts: 14,131
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    Ber wrote: »
    I know Foucault about it too:(

    (Mine is the black jacket with the hood on the end peg)

    *clap* :D
  • KJ44KJ44 Posts: 38,093
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    It is though. As others have said, it's just a pendulum swinging around. Big deal. It teaches you absolutely nothing about the principles involved.

    "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink".
  • stud u likestud u like Posts: 42,100
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    Oh that Foucault. I prefer Michel Foucault.
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