TORSION PENDULUM

EQUIPMENT
    Torsion Pendulum (Brass Disk on a Steel Wire)
   


NARRATIVE
            The torsion pendulum consists of a brass disk suspended at the center from a steel wire. When the disk is rotated a slight amount, the wire applies a restoring torque causing the disk to oscillate rotationally when released. A red spot is attached to the circumference of the disk which is used as a marker to measure the period of the pendulum. The period is dependent on the mass and the diameter of the disk (i.e. its moment of inertia) and the torsion constant of the wire.