Torsion Pendulum
Torsion Pendulum
The torsion pendulum was used by Henry Cavendish to measure the gravitational force between two masses. A rotatable rod with two small balls at its ends hangs from a wire; it has a mirror in the middle that deflects a beam of light. There are two larger fixed balls that make an angle with the rod. The two pairs of balls attract each other, causing the wire to turn; the angle measures the force. A similar device was used later by Charles Augustin de Coulomb to discover the inverse square law for the force between two electric charges.
External Links
External Links
Permanent Citation
Permanent Citation
Enrique Zeleny
"Torsion Pendulum"
http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/TorsionPendulum/
Wolfram Demonstrations Project
Published: March 7, 2011