GALILEO’S PENDULUM AS A MAGNETIC BALANCE FOR STUDYING CHEMICAL MAGNETISM AT HOME

Abstract

A very simple, but rich experiment, encompassing a classical Galileo’s pendulum, has been devised to be performed at home, especially during the Covid-19 pandemics. The experiment uses a miniature supermagnet rod as the pendulum oscillating element suspended from a fixed sewing thread. Its physics can be fully investigated, allowing to study the oscillation movements and to extract the gravity acceleration constant. The interaction with chemical substances can be accurately monitored by equilibrating the magnetic attraction of the probe as it opposes the gravity restoring force. Magnetic susceptibilities can be precisely measured in this way, allowing to access the number of unpaired electrons in the compounds, while stimulating discussions in the light of the ligand field theory. The simplicity and the opportunity of joining physics and chemistry are the most relevant aspects of the experiment. Curiously, the pendulum performance also implies a meditation like posture, requiring complete silence and confinement. In this sense it can also help relaxing our mind during the pandemics.

Keywords

• Galileo’s pendulum
• magnetic balance
• magnetic susceptibility
• pendulum physics
• paramagnetism