Cross-camera tracking and frequency analysis of a cheap Slinky Wilberforce pendulum

Abstract

A Wilberforce pendulum is a mechanical oscillator often used as an example for the effect of coupling. After establishing a theoretical model of this oscillator and building a prototype, tracking algorithms have been developed to get the position of the oscillator. These tools enable us to highlight the existence of normal modes and determine the constants of the system. We also test different initial conditions to project the state of the pendulum on the normal modes. At the end, we discuss the match between our model and the experimental results. This comparison leads to possible improvements of the model and of the measurements.

Keywords

• wilberforce pendulum
• classical mechanics
• position measurements
• video tracking
• frequency analysis