Cycloid - Cycloidal Pendulum

Cycloidal Pendulum

If a simple pendulum is suspended from the cusp of an inverted cycloid, such that the "string" is constrained between the adjacent arcs of the cycloid, and the pendulum's length is equal to that of half the arc length of the cycloid (i.e., twice the diameter of the generating circle), the bob of the pendulum also traces a cycloid path. Such a cycloidal pendulum is isochronous, regardless of amplitude. The equation of motion is given by:

\begin{align} x &= r \\ y &= r
\end{align}

The 17th-century Dutch mathematician Christiaan Huygens discovered and proved these properties of the cycloid while searching for more accurate pendulum clock designs to be used in navigation.

Read more about this topic:  Cycloid

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