Almost Periodic

Pendulum wave

· Part of the Pendulum Series

This is a pendulum wave. It consists of an adjustable number of pendulums in a row, whose lengths are carefully designed such that each pendulum completes one more swing per cycle than its neighbor. When released from the same initial angle, the pendulums will drift apart and make patterns by splitting into groups, before lining up again every τ\tau seconds.

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Design

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Cut list: pendulum lengths for building one

Each length runs from the pivot to the center of the pendulum bob, so the string itself will be shorter than the listed length by the bob's radius.

The jump buttons will stop the motion at specified fractions in the cycle where clear groups are formed. At τ/2\tau/2 the row splits into two groups; at τ/3\tau/3, into three. The cut list gives the length of each pendulum measured from the pivot to the center of the pendulum bob, in case you want to try to build a pendulum wave yourself.