Foucault pendulum

Device to demonstrate Earth's rotation / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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The Foucault pendulum or Foucault's pendulum is a simple device named after French physicist Léon Foucault, conceived as an experiment to demonstrate the Earth's rotation. A long and heavy pendulum suspended from the high roof above a circular area was monitored over an extended time period, showing that its plane of oscillation rotated.

Panth%C3%A9on_Pendule_de_Foucault2.JPG
Foucault's pendulum in the Panthéon, Paris

The pendulum was introduced in 1851 and was the first experiment to give simple, direct evidence of the Earth's rotation. Foucault followed up in 1852 with a gyroscope experiment to further demonstrate the Earth's rotation. Foucault pendulums today are popular displays in science museums and universities.[1]