Compound pendulum

Aim: To determine the radius of gyration and acceleration due to gravity.

Apparatus: Bar Pendulum, metal wedge, Spirit level, Stop watch, Scale.

THEORY:
The object which is mounted on a horizontal axis so as to oscillate under the
force of gravity is a
compound pendulum. The compound pendulum is shownbelow, and it consists of a
uniform metal bar of total mass m and length l, which may be suspended at various points
A along the bar with the aid of a sliding pivot situated at any distance h from the centre of
gravity or Center of Mass(C.M) of the pendulum.
(For this case, the centre of mass is at the middle of the rod).
In this experiment a uniform rod is suspended at different locations along its
length to determine the acceleration due to gravity and radius of gyration.

The time period T of a compound pendulum is given by

T =2
I
mg