Question 02/01

LIMITED PENDULUM

Period of a pendulum depends only on its length only for very small oscillations. For large oscilations the period depends on the amplitude. Such amplitude-dependence can be eliminated by making the string of the pendulum (shown in red) to rap around a limiting curve (shown in blue). What is the shape of this curve?

p.s. Huygens tried to use such curve in a clock, but the idea created technical problems and was eventually abandoned.

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