LD

Mechanics
Physics
Oscillations
Leaflets P1.5.3.1
Torsion pendulum

Free rotational oscillations

Measuring with a hand-held stop-clock

Objects of the experiment

g Measuring the amplitude of rotational oscillations as function of time
g Determination of the damping constant and the logarithmic decrement
g Investigating the transition form the weekly damped oscillation case to the limit case

Principles
Oscillations (and wave) phenomena are well known due to
their presence everywhere in nature and technique. Their
investigation is thus both from experimental point of view as
0,2 (A)
from theoretical point of view an important topic as it allows to 0,1
Amplitude / m

study fundamental methods and concepts of physics.

The rotary oscillations are a special case among various 0,0
mechanical oscillator models (compound pendulum, spring
pendulum etc.) which allow to investigate the most important -0,1

phenomena which occur in all types of oscillations. Addition-

ally, to the usual observation of a free damped harmonic -0,2

oscillator anharmonic oscillator can also be realized. In ex-

0 10 20 30 40 50
periment P1.5.3.4 anharmonic chaotic rotary oscillations are
time / s
examined in order to show that the harmonic oscillations are
only a special case.
0,25

0,20
(B)
Amplitude / m

0,15

0,10

0,05

0,00

-0,05
0 1 2 3 4 5
time t / s

0,25

0,20 (C)
Amplitude / m

0,15

Fig. 1: Schematic representation of various damped oscillation 0,10

curves:
Bi / Fö 0506

(A) weakly damped case: ω02 > δ2 (blue curve) 0,05

(B) heavily damped case: ω < δ (red curve)

2
0
2
0,00

in comparison with an damped oscillation of type (A, blue) -0,05

(C) aperiodic limit case: ω02 = δ 2 (green curve) 0 1 2 3 4 5
time t / s
in comparison with heavily damped case (B, red).

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However, according to equation (V) oscillations occur only

Apparatus when the angular frequency (i.e. equation (IV)) has a positive
1 Torsion pendulum .............................................. 346 00 radiant (Fig. 1: case (A)):
1 DC power supply 0…16V/0…5 A....................... 521 545 ω02 > δ2
1 Ammeter, DC, I ≤ 2 A, e.g. LD analog 20 .......... 531 120
1 Connecting lead, 100 cm, blue .......................... 500 442
1 Pair cables, red and blue, 100 cm ..................... 501 46
1 Stop clock .......................................................... 313 07 If ω02 < δ 2 the solution has the form

ϕ( t ) = ϕ0 ⋅ e − δ⋅ t (eω⋅ t + e − ω⋅ t ) (VIII)

The oscillating system approaches the equilibrium position

asymptotically after one oscillation (so called creeping or
heavily damped case − Fig. 1 case (B) red curve). The higher
The movement of a free damped (rotary) oscillating system
the damping constant the slower the approach to zero.
can be described by the differential equation
d2ϕ dϕ If ω02 = δ 2 the solution has the form
J +k +D⋅ϕ = 0
dt 2 dt (I) ϕ( t ) = (ϕ0 + b ⋅ t ) e − δ⋅ t (IX)
J: moment of inertia
The damping is so great that there is just no longer a crossing
D: directional quantity (restoring torque) through the rest position. Any reduction in damping leads to
k: damping coefficient (coefficient of friction) an oscillation. This is the so-called aperiodic limit case which
ϕ: angle of rotation is of practical importance because the time required to reach
the zero position is minimal. A measuring instrument having a
pointer of a moving-coil system is thus designed with aperi-
With the damping constant odic damping (Fig. 1 case (C) green curve).
k
δ=
2⋅J (II)
In this experiment a rotatable metal wheel with inertia J is
the natural angular frequency of an undamped oscillation
used as an oscillator. A helical spring acts on the wheel when
D its displaced by an angle ϕ from its rest position to produce a
ω0 =
J restoring torque M which is approximately given by
(III)
and the angular frequency of the damped oscillation
M = −D ⋅ ϕ (X)
ω = ω02 − δ2 (IV) Owing to the unavoidable frictional forces (in the ball baring
etc.) the amplitude of mechanical oscillation decreases in
equation (I) may be resolved by
time. As a result a free damped oscillation is produced. In
ϕ( t ) = ϕ0 ⋅ e− δ⋅t ⋅ cos ω ⋅ t (V) many (but not in all!) cases, the frictional forces (torques)
are proportional to the (angular) velocity in the first order of
ϕ0: initial angel of rotation at time t = 0 approximation:
dϕ
δ: damping constant MF = −k ⋅ (XI)
dt
ω0: characteristic frequency of an “undamped” system On the torsion pendulum the damping according equation (XI)
ω: angular frequency of the damped oscillation is realized by passing the metal wheel through the field of an
electromagnet. The electrons experience the Lorentz force.
Thus the electrons are displayed perpendicular to the field of
the electromagnet and the direction of the moving wheel.
From equation (V) follows that the amplitude decreases by
They flow back through the field free part of the wheel (Fig.
the amplitude factor e- δ⋅t (Fig. 1 − case (A)). Thus after a time 2). As a result a closed eddy-current Ieddy circuit is produced.
1/δ the amplitude has decreased to 1/e of its initial value ϕ0.
Moreover, from equation (V) follows that the ratio of two suc- The part of the metal wheel in the magnetic field acts like a
cessive amplitudes ϕn and ϕn+1 is constant moving current carrying conductor on which a force F op-
posed to the direction of motion and proportional to the veloc-
ϕn ity v acts. This generates a deaccelerating torque MF.
= q = e − δ⋅T (VI)
ϕn +1

q: damping ratio

B Ieddy
The exponent is called the logarithm decrement
ϕn
Λ = δ ⋅ T = ln = ln q (VII)
ϕn +1

Fig. 2: Generation of eddy currents Ieddy.

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LD Physics leaflets -3- P1.5.3.1

Setup 521 545

(A)
DC NETZGERÄT 0–16 V / 0–5 A
DC POWER SUPPLY 0–16 V / 0–5 A

Set up the experiment as shown in Fig. 3. The time is meas-

ured by the stop clock (not shown in Fig. 3).
Set the pointer of the metal wheel (3a) to the zero position of
the scale by turning the drive wheel (3e). A FINE V

Safety notes
g The current through the eddy current brake should not POWER

exceed 2 A for a long time.

Carrying out the experiment

a) Investigating the damping of the oscillation
OFF
531 120

- Set the current for the electromagnet to a small value, e.g.

3a V 30
100
10
3 100µ
1m
10m
100m
A
AC

300 1
300 3

I = 0.18 A
100 3
30 1
10 100m
3 10m
1 DC
300m 1m
100µ
V 100m
A
- Move the pointer of the pendulum to the limit position and
read off the amplitude A on the same side of the scale af-
ter each oscillation T (for the case of weak damping after
5 or 10 oscillations).
- Additionally, measure several times the time for 10 oscilla-
tions to determine the oscillation period T.
Hint: If the pendulum achieves an equilibrium in less then 10
3e
oscillations measure the time several times to obtain the
mean value.
- Repeat the experiment in the same way for a larger cur-
rent (i.e. I = 0.4 A). (B) Ux
24 V–
650 mA

b) Investigating the transition from oscillation to the 521 545

DC NETZGERÄT 0–16 V / 0–5 A
DC POWER SUPPLY 0–16 V / 0–5 A

limit cases
- Increase the current until the pendulum performs an oscil-
lation depicted by the blue curve in Fig. 1 (B).
A FINE V
- Move the pointer of the pendulum to the limit position and
measure the time taken for an oscillation until the equilib-
rium position is reached. Determine the oscillation period
as mean value from several measurements.
POWER

- Increase the current until the pendulum performs an oscil- OFF

531 120

lation depicted by the green curve in Fig. 1 (C). V 10

3 100µ
1m A
30 10m AC
100 100m

- Measure the time taken by the pendulum when released 300

300
100
30
10
1
100m
3
1
3

from the limit position. Determine mean value from e.g. 5

3 10m DC
1 1m
300m
100µ
V 100m
A

measurements.

Fig. 3: Experimental setup (wiring diagram schematically) for ob-

serving damped rotational oscillations.

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Technical alterations reserved
P1.5.3.1 -4- LD Physics leaflets

Measuring example Table. 2: Oscillation period (mean value determined by 5

measurements) for different eddy currents.
I T
a) Investigating the damping of the oscillation Eddy current Oscillation period
A s

Note: The experimental data may differ from pendulum to 0.18 1.80
pendulum due to inevitable tolerances between the eddy 0.25 1.82
current brakes and the tiny differences in the mechanical set
up.

b) Investigating the transition from oscillation to the

Table. 1: Measured oscillation amplitude A as function of time
limit cases
n⋅T (n-times the oscillation period) for I = 0.18 A and
I = 0.25 A. I = 1.3 A.

t A t A
Measured oscillation period: 2.14 s.
s Scd s Scd
0.0 20.2 0.0 20.2 I = 1.5 A
1.8 18.7 1.8 17.2 Measured oscillation period: 1.9 s
3.5 17.3 3.6 14.5
5.3 16.3 5.3 12.3
7.1 15.2 7.2 10.4
8.9 14.2 9.0 8.7 Evaluation and results
10.7 13.2 10.8 7.5
12.5 12.3 12.6 6.3 a) Investigating the damping of the oscillation

14.3 11.4 14.5 5.3 Fig. 4 summarizes the result of Table 1. The damping con-
stant δ can determined for instance by fitting equation (V) to
16.2 10.6 16.3 4.5 the experimental data. Alternatively, the fit of a straight line to
17.9 9.9 18.2 3.8 data plotted in Fig. 5 gives the damping constant δ from which
the logarithmic decrement Λ can be determined (Table 3.).
19.8 9.1 20.0 3.2
21.6 8.5 21.9 2.7
Table. 3: Oscillation period T (from Table 2). damping con-
23.5 7.9 23.8 2.2
stant δ (determined by a fit to the experimental data plotted in
25.3 7.3 25.6 2.0 Fig. 5) and logarithmic decrement Λ for various eddy cur-
27.1 6.9 27.5 1.7 rents I.

28.9 6.3 29.3 1.4 I T δ Λ

A s s−1
30.8 5.9 31.2 1.3
32.7 5.5 0.18 1.80 0.039 0.07

34.1 4.1 0.25 1.82 0.094 0.17

35.9 3.7
37.7 3.4
39.5 3.0 20,0

41.3 2.8 17,5

Amplitude A / Scd

43.1 2.5 15,0

44.9 2.2 12,5
46.7 2.0 10,0
48.5 1.7 7,5
50.3 1.6 5,0
I = 0.18 A
52.1 1.3
2,5
53.9 1.1 I = 0.25 A
0,0
55.7 1.0 0 25 50

57.5 0.9 time / s

59.2 0.7
Fig. 4: Amplitude as function of time. The solid lines correspond to a
61.0 0.5
fit according equation (V).

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LD Physics leaflets -5- P1.5.3.1

10
Amplitude A / Scd

I = 0.18 A
1 I = 0.25 A

0 25 50
time / s

Fig. 5: Amplitude as function of time. The solid lines correspond to a

fit of a straight line yielding the damping constants δ listed in
Table 3.

b) Investigating the transition from oscillation to the

limit cases
The pendulum reaches the equilibrium after one oscillation for
I = 1.3 A. The measured oscillation period is 2.14 s.

For I = 1.5 A the pendulum reaches the equilibrium in 1.9 s

without oscillating over the zero position.
In this so-called aperiodic case the adjustment time required
by the system to return to the equilibrium is a minimum.

Supplementary information
The oscillations with a restoring torque described by equation
(X) are called harmonic oscillations. The harmonic oscillator is
only a special case among systems which are capable of
oscillation. Most of the real oscillations are not harmonic, i.e.
relation (X) is not strictly satisfied. However, many oscillations
can be considered as harmonic oscillations at least in the first
approximation by developing the restoring torque (forces) as
function about the rest position in series and neglecting non-
linear terms. The equation of motion (I) of such on oscillating
system can generally not be solved analytically.
The anharmonic oscillator is investigated in experiment
P1.5.3.4.

LD Didactic GmbH . Leyboldstrasse 1 . D-50354 Huerth / Germany . Phone: (02233) 604-0 . Fax: (02233) 604-222 . e-mail: [email protected]

©by LD Didactic GmbH Printed in the Federal Republic of Germany

Technical alterations reserved
P1.5.3.1 -6- LD Physics leaflets

LD Didactic GmbH . Leyboldstrasse 1 . D-50354 Huerth / Germany . Phone: (02233) 604-0 . Fax: (02233) 604-222 . e-mail: [email protected]

©by LD Didactic GmbH Printed in the Federal Republic of Germany

Technical alterations reserved