A spring pendulum is a physical system where a piece of mass is connected to a spring so that the resulting motion contains elements of a simple pendulum as well as a spring. The system is much more complex than a simple pendulum because the properties of the spring adds an extra dimension of freedom to the system. For example, when the spring compresses, the shorter radius causes the spring to move faster due to the conservation of angular momentum. Also there is the possibility that the spring has a range that is overtaken by the motion of the pendulum, making it practically neutral to the motion of the pendulum.
Famous quotes containing the words spring and/or pendulum:
“Shall the Spring dawn, and she still clad in smiles,
And with an unscathed brow,
Rest in the strong arms of her palm-crowned isles,
As fair and free as now?
We know not; in the temple of the Fates
God has inscribed her doom;
And, all untroubled in her faith, she waits
The triumph or the tomb.”
—Henry Timrod (1828–1867)
“During the first World War women in the United States had a chance to try their capacities in wider fields of executive leadership in industry. Must we always wait for war to give us opportunity? And must the pendulum always swing back in the busy world of work and workers during times of peace?”
—Mary Barnett Gilson (1877–?)