Difference between revisions of "Talk:2201: Foucault Pendulum"

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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(Fixed plane sentence and explanation are wrong.)
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Why does the description description Megan as a "professor?" She could just as easily be a teacher, a docent, a scientifically-interested parent, or just a random bystander. 11 September 2019
 
Why does the description description Megan as a "professor?" She could just as easily be a teacher, a docent, a scientifically-interested parent, or just a random bystander. 11 September 2019
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:I agree, and will be bold and change it. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.41|141.101.99.41]] 04:11, 12 September 2019 (UTC)
  
 
The sentence "It stays in a fixed plane while the Earth rotates under it." and the correspoding text in explanation are wrong. It would be true only if the pendulum was located on one of Earth's poles. Elsewhere, the plane in which the pendulum moves would still rotate with respect to its surrondings, but slower than on the pole. The rotation speed is proportional to the sine of latitude. At the equator, the plane would stay fixed with respect to its surroundings. See [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foucault_pendulum#Explanation_of_mechanics Wikipedia].--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.207|162.158.93.207]] 23:45, 11 September 2019 (UTC)
 
The sentence "It stays in a fixed plane while the Earth rotates under it." and the correspoding text in explanation are wrong. It would be true only if the pendulum was located on one of Earth's poles. Elsewhere, the plane in which the pendulum moves would still rotate with respect to its surrondings, but slower than on the pole. The rotation speed is proportional to the sine of latitude. At the equator, the plane would stay fixed with respect to its surroundings. See [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foucault_pendulum#Explanation_of_mechanics Wikipedia].--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.207|162.158.93.207]] 23:45, 11 September 2019 (UTC)

Revision as of 04:11, 12 September 2019

I take it the pendulum is somewhere deep underground, which would shield Black Hat from the cataclysmic side effects? Besides, they have several backup pendulums that while not enough to maintain rotation are sufficient to slow the half enough to preserve life.108.162.212.149 20:11, 11 September 2019 (UTC)

If the pendulum could really affect Earth's rotation, Black Hat wouldn't need to stop the pendulum entirely; he'd only need to prevent its plane of oscillation from rotating. Another thought: if the pendulum and Earth's rotation were really bidirectionally linked somehow, there would probably be nothing Black Hat could do to alter the pendulum's plane of oscillation -- any more than he could alter the rotation of the Earth with just one human being's strength. That last thought doesn't seem to be the case within this story, though, or else the final frame's news report wouldn't have happened. Trueflint (talk) 20:46, 11 September 2019 (UTC)

Why does the description description Megan as a "professor?" She could just as easily be a teacher, a docent, a scientifically-interested parent, or just a random bystander. 11 September 2019

I agree, and will be bold and change it. 141.101.99.41 04:11, 12 September 2019 (UTC)

The sentence "It stays in a fixed plane while the Earth rotates under it." and the correspoding text in explanation are wrong. It would be true only if the pendulum was located on one of Earth's poles. Elsewhere, the plane in which the pendulum moves would still rotate with respect to its surrondings, but slower than on the pole. The rotation speed is proportional to the sine of latitude. At the equator, the plane would stay fixed with respect to its surroundings. See Wikipedia.--162.158.93.207 23:45, 11 September 2019 (UTC)