Pendulum
['pendjʊləm] or ['pɛndʒələm]
Definition
(noun.) an apparatus consisting of an object mounted so that it swings freely under the influence of gravity.
Typist: Suzy--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) A body so suspended from a fixed point as to swing freely to and fro by the alternate action of gravity and momentum. It is used to regulate the movements of clockwork and other machinery.
Editor: Vince
Definition
n. any weight so hung from a fixed point as to swing freely: the swinging weight which regulates the movement of a clock: a lamp &c. pendent from a ceiling: a guard-ring of a watch by which it is attached to a chain.—adj. Pen′dular relating to a pendulum.—v.i. Pen′dulate to swing vibrate.—adjs. Pen′dulent pendulous; Pen′duline building a pendulous nest; Pen′dulous hanging loosely: swinging freely as the pensile nests of birds: (bot.) hanging downwards as a flower on a curved stalk.—adv. Pen′dulously.—ns. Pen′dulousness Pen′dulosity.—Pendulum wire a kind of flat steel wire for clock pendulums.—Compensation pendulum a pendulum so constructed that its rod is not altered in length by changes of temperature; Compound pendulum every ordinary pendulum is compound as differing from a Simple pendulum which is a material point suspended by an ideal line; Invariable pendulum a pendulum for carrying from station to station to be oscillated at each so as to fix the relative acceleration of gravity; Long and short pendulum a pendulum for determining the absolute force of gravity by means of a bob suspended by a wire of varying length.
Typist: Lucas
Examples
- But Huygens, the great Dutch scientist, about 1556 was the first to explain the principles and properties of the pendulum as a time measurer and to apply it most successfully to clocks. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- A pendulum carrying a pencil was in constant contact with a strip of paper drawn beneath the pencil. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- The pendulum of the controlling clock, in swinging to either side, makes a brief contact, which completes the circuit of a galvanic battery, and thus sends a current to the controlled clock. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- The isochronism of the vibrations of the pendulum inferred from this observation was not published or put to practical application in clocks for nearly sixty years afterward. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- But the pressure of the escape-wheel against the detent, and the consequent friction, prevent the pendulum from acting freely. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- In physics they invented the pendulum, and produced work on optics. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- The pendulum rod, _B_, is made of wood, and the bob, _A_, consists of a hollow coil of thick copper wire covered with cotton, through which the hollow bar, _C C_, passes. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- In it hangs the lamp whose measured swing suggested to Galileo the pendulum. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- The accompanying diagram will serve to explain more clearly the parts of the clock on which the movement of the pendulum depends. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- Later he invent ed simple pendulum devices for timing the pulse of patients, and even made some advances in applying his discovery in the construction of pendulum clocks. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- Soon the pendulum, or weight, will be set swinging. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- On being released the pendulum would return, and in this way zigzag markings, as shown at 4 and 5, would be produced on the strip of paper, which formed the alphabet. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- The pendulum carried also an armature, and an electro-magnet was placed near the armature. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- The opening being then closed by a screw-nut, the apparatus, which is mounted on pivots, with an appropriate stand, is swung backwards and forwards like a pendulum. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- He and others had used the pendulum for dividing time, but moved it by hand and counted its vibrations. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
Edited by Caleb