Born in 1819, Foucault was the son of a French publisher. From an early age he showed exceptional skill at making mechanical toys. He studied medicine, but later moved on to the study of physical sciences at the Paris Observatory. Foucault is widely regarded as one of the most gifted and versatile experimentalists of all time. He built a scientific instrument that proved the Earth rotated. If you have seen a pendulum like this in a museum, you probably watched the ball swinging and thought how cool, then ran off to play with the hands on Science exhibits. If you had waited long enough you would have seen the pendulum knock over each of the pegs. While you are watching the pendulum, the building is rotating with the Earth. How does this work? Aren't you just in a building? Image taken from: https://www.wired.com/2014/05/wuwt-foucaults-pendulum/ The pendulum swings back and forth in the same plane...Each time the pendulum swings the Earth rotates a little bit more causing the floor to move beneath the pendulum. A pendulum can't change course, it swings in a constant direction, so it must be the Earth moving beneath the pendulum. This pendulum experiment might make more sense if we set it up on the North Pole and could set the pendulum moving in the same path all day and watch the ball kick the pegs down in a circle. Amazingly you can do this experiment anywhere on the Earth and the same motion will occur! Scientists all over the world were able to determine that the Earth truly rotates. This motion is oddly satisfying... Can't watch it too long or...
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Mrs. TaylorI love science! Everything about the world is interesting and never boring. I love to study plants, animals, insects, and people. My favorite subjects are my students who are the most unique organisms on the planet! Categories |