Engel Hall - Saint John's University (MN)
Posted by: 
Kurt Franke
N 45° 34.869 W 094° 23.431
15T E 391519 N 5048452
This Foucault Pendulum is located in the "new" science building, Engel Hall on the campus of Saint John's University, Collegeville, MN.
Waymark Code: WM7QC
Location: Minnesota, United States
Date Posted: 02/17/2006
Views: 60
Foucault Pendulum
Jean Bernard Foucault, a French physicist of the nineteenth century, first demonstrated hi pendulum at the worlds fair in the Pantheon in Paris. The Foucault Pendulum is suspended so that it can swing freely and not be restricted to a fixed plan related to its mount. Although the pendulum appears to be rotating in time, in reality the motion is actually the earth (and ths building) rotating under the pendulum.
This Foucault Pendulum has a 240-pound bob made of machined brass, suspended on a steel cable and attached to a ball-bearing pivot. Assisted by an electromagnet at the ceiling, the pendulum stays in perpetual motion. At this latitude (45 degrees) it takes 33 hours and 44 minutes to move a full 360 degrees. Each brass marking on the floor represents on hour; the next marking represents one-half hour, followed by fifteen-minute markings. The smallest routed marks in the outside ring represent five-minue intervals.
Foucault Pendulum was made possible by a generous gift from Ed and Kathy Theisen
(Taken from signage near the pendulum)
Weight of the ball: 240
Material: Brass
Rotation time: 34
Admission Cost: 0.00 (listed in local currency)
Length: Not Listed
Period of oscillation: Not Listed
Hours of Operation: Not listed
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