Have You Heard of the Pendulum Wave?

Have you ever seen “art” woven by the laws of physics? If you think math and science are stuffy and boring, this video might just completely change your mind. For now, just watch this incredible and mesmerizing video without overthinking it.

What did you think? Ever since I first watched it, I haven’t been able to forget this strangely and mathematically beautiful movement. (It was so beautiful, it even appeared in my dreams!) This phenomenon is called the “Pendulum Wave.”

The Secret Lies in the “Length of the String”

At first glance, it looks like a complex piece of machinery, but the structure is incredibly simple. All that’s happening is that the “length of the pendulum strings” is gradually being changed from the front to the back. In fact, there is a law that states the time it takes for a pendulum to complete one full swing (this is called the “period”) is determined not by the weight of the bob, but by the length of the string. This is known as the “isochronism of the pendulum,” a famous law discovered by none other than Galileo Galilei.

In short, this is what’s happening in the setup:

The pendulums with shorter strings in the front: swing quickly and restlessly.

The pendulums with longer strings in the back: swing slowly and leisurely.

The Journey from Chaos Back to Order

The pendulums, starting all at once, begin to swing at slightly different speeds. Even though they start perfectly aligned, they gradually become scattered and chaotic. But this is where the magic of mathematics comes in. The seemingly random movements, at a certain moment, begin to undulate like a snake with a mind of its own, forming double spirals, and finally, there is a moment when they snap back into a perfect straight line. There are no special effects in the video, and no sound, yet you can’t help but stare blankly at it, can you?

The Visible Beauty of Mathematics

This isn’t just a simple physical phenomenon; it’s the “Dance of the Natural World” created by numbers. The next time you watch this video, try adding a scientific perspective by thinking, “Ah, their periods just overlapped!” I’m sure you will experience a different kind of awe than you did the first time.

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