Many times a pendulum is something more involved than a small
mass and a string. Pendula pendulums on clocks are often decorative
or ornate. Anything that swings back and forth undergoes motion
like a pendulum. We call such an object a physical pendulum and Figure 10.10 ilustrates a few examples.
Figure 10.10 A physical pendulum is anything more
complex than a small mass and a string, which
swings back and forth like a pendulum.
Just as with a small mass and string, the motion of a physical
pendulum is simple harmonic motion for small amplitudes but starts
to deviate from simple harmonic motion as the amplitude become
very large. The period of a physical pendulum depends upon where
the center of mass is located and the moment of inertia for rotation
about its pivot. You may recall that the moment of inertia is
like the "rotational mass" of an object.
