3— Rotation: The Spinning of the Earth on Its Axis

The Earth rotates around an imaginary axis. The Poles of the Earth are at the ends of the axis. The
North Pole is at the north end, and the South Pole is at the south end.

In this project, you will model a Foucault pendulum to examine the relation between the Earth's
rotation and the inertia of freeswinging objects. You will calculate the apparent shift of the path
traced by pendulums at different latitudes. You will also model the deflection of fluids due to the
Coriolis effect.

Getting Started

Purpose: To model a Foucault pendulum.

Materials

8-inch (20-cm) piece of string

metal washer

pencil

1-quart (1-liter) jar

lazy Susan turntable

masking tape

Procedure

1. Tie one end of the string to the washer.

2. Tie the free end of the string to the center of the pencil.

3. Center the pencil across the mouth of the jar so that the washer is suspended inside the jar.

4. Set the jar on the turntable.

5. Spin the turntable counterclockwise and adjust the position of the jar and/or pencil so that the
string hangs straight down as the turntable spins.

6. Stop the turntable and secure the pencil to the jar with tape.

7. Tilt the jar to start the washer moving back and forth in one direction. Set the jar back in place on
the turntable.

8. While the washer is swinging, spin the turntable in a counterclockwise direction as before (see
Figure 3.1).

Results

The washer continues to swing back and forth in the same direction though the jar is turning around.
In relationship to the turntable, the swinging washer appears to move in a clockwise direction.

Why?

The turntable represents the Earth rotating, which means it is turning about its axis (imaginary line
that passes through the North and South Poles). As viewed from a position above the North Pole,
the Earth rotates in a counterclockwise direction, like the turntable. The washer is a pendulum (a
suspended object that swings back and forth). A pendulum swings in one direction because of
inertia (the tendency of an object to remain stationary or to continue moving in a straight line unless
acted on by an outside force). The swinging washer did not change direction, but the movement of
the turntable made the pendulum seem to move in a clockwise direction, opposite to the rotation of
the turntable. A pendulum placed at the North Pole would seem to move in a clockwise direction as
seen by an observer on Earth, like the washer in the jar, even though inertia in fact keeps the
pendulum swinging in one direction.

A similar experiment was first performed in 1851 by a French physicist, Jean-Bernard-Léon Foucault
(1819–1868). Foucault used a 223-foot (67-m) wire to suspend a sphere weighing 62 pounds (28 kg)
from the dome of the Panthéon, a public building in Paris. The pendulum was free to move in any
direction, but once it was set in motion, inertia kept it swinging in the same direction. A pin at the
end of the pendulum made marks in sand on the floor. As time passed, the direction of the marks
changed. Because of inertia, the pendulum swung in the same direction. Since the sand rested on
the floor of the building, and the building rested on the Earth, the pendulum showed that the Earth
itself moves. Thus, Foucault's experiment showed the rotation of the Earth. A pendulum that shows
the rotation of the Earth is called a Foucault pendulum.

Try New Approaches

As seen from a position above the South Pole, the rotation of the Earth is clockwise. How would the
apparent path of a pendulum be affected if the pendulum were placed at the South Pole? Repeat
the experiment, rotating the turntable in a clockwise direction.

Design Your Own Experiment

1a. The path traced by a Foucault pendulum appears to shift as the Earth rotates. The amount of the
apparent shift of the pendulum's path depends on the latitude of the pendulum's location. At the
Poles (latitude 90°), the apparent shift of the pendulum's path is 15° per hour, but at lower latitudes
the shift decreases and at the equator (latitude 0°), the apparent shift is 0° per hour—the path
doesn't shift at all. The apparent shift (d) in degrees per hour can be calculated for a given latitude
using the following equation:

d = 15° sin(latitude)

To find sin(latitude), enter the latitude on a scientific calculator and hit the sine function key.

Example:

Foucault's original pendulum was located in Paris, which is at latitude 47° N. Calculate the apparent
shift of the pendulum's path in degrees per hour.

d = 15° sin(47)

= 15°(0.7314)

= 10.97° per hour

Use the example to determine the shift of a Foucault pendulum at your latitude.

b. It takes 24 hours for the pendulum to make an apparent 360° shift at either the North or South
Pole, but it takes longer at the lower latitudes. The time (t) it takes for the pendulum to make an
apparent shift through a complete revolution of 360° at a specific latitude can be calculated by using
this equation:

t = 360°/d

where d is the apparent shift of the pendulum's path in degrees per hour, as calculated in the
previous experiment.

Example:

Calculate the time for the path of Foucault's pendulum in Paris to shift 360°.

t = 360° /d

= 360°/10.97° per hour

= 32.82 hours

Use the equation to determine the time it takes for a pendulum's path to apparently shift 360° at
your latitude.

2. The Earth's rotation affects fluids (gases or liquids) such as winds and ocean currents that move
freely across the Earth by causing them to deflect (turn aside from a straight path) and move in
curved paths. This deflection of fluids as a result of the Earth's rotation is called the Coriolis effect.

Make a model to demonstrate the curved paths of fluids due to the Coriolis effect. Cut an 8-inch (20-
cm) circle from a sheet of paper. Use a paper punch to make a hole in the center of the paper circle.
Insert a paper brad through the hole in the center of a ruler and the hole in the paper circle. Lay the
paper circle on a table with the ruler on top. Use masking tape to tape the ends of the ruler to the
table. Position the point of a ballpoint pen at the top of the paper and to one side of the ruler, as
shown in Figure 3.2. Draw a line on the paper along the edge of the ruler with a black pen. This
straight line shows the path of fluids without the Coriolis effect. Repeat the procedure using the
same paper but a red pen. Align the black mark next to the ruler. With your red pen at the top of the
paper as before, ask a helper to slowly rotate the paper circle counterclockwise as you draw a line
on the paper as before. The curved red line shows the path of fluids with the Coriolis effect. Science
Fair Hint: Use the drawings as part of a project display representing the path of fluids with and
without the Coriolis effect.

Get the Facts

The major wind patterns on the Earth are called prevailing winds. How does the Earth's rotation
affect the direction of these winds? For information, see Janice VanCleave's Oceans for Every Kid
(New York: Wiley, 1996), pp. 65–75.