Normal Modes of a Double Pendulum
Normal Modes of a Double Pendulum
The concept of normal modes of a mechanical system is nicely illustrated by a double pendulum. The normal modes of a mechanical system are single frequency solutions to the equations of motion; the most general motion of the system is a superposition of its normal modes. You can adjust the controls to determine how the masses and lengths of the component pendula affect the normal modes. The symmetric mode of oscillation is always of a lower frequency than the antisymmetric mode of oscillation.