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{excerpt:hidden=true}Compares the simple pendulum model with a slightly more detailed one.{excerpt}

|!179px-Grandfather_clock_pendulum.png!|
|Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons|
|Downloaded 2009-01-16 from Charles H. Henderson & John F. Woodhull (1901) The Elements of Physics, D. Appleton & Co., New York, p.59, fig.21|


Adding detail to the model of the [pendulum].


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h4. Solution 

{toggle-cloak:id=sys} *System:* {cloak:id=sys}A model of a [pendulum], simply supported and free to swing without friction about a supporting axis under the [torque|torque (single-axis)] due to [gravity|gravity (near-earth)].{cloak:sys}

{toggle-cloak:id=int} *Interactions:* {cloak:id=int}[torque|torque (single-axis)] due to [gravity|gravity (near-earth)] and the upward force exerted against gravity by the axis.{cloak:int}

{toggle-cloak:id=mod} *Model:* {cloak:id=mod}[Angular Momentum and External Torque about a Single Axis]{cloak:mod}

{toggle-cloak:id=app} *Approach:*

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{toggle-cloak:id=diag} {color:red} *Diagrammatic Representation* {color}

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We consider first the usual *Simple Model of a Pendulum*

|!Basic Pendulum 01.PNG!|


And then a slightly more detailed model

|!Basic Pendulum 02.PNG!|

With two variations.


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{toggle-cloak:id=math} {color:red} *Mathematical Representation* {color}

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The simple model has the virtue that it is extremely simple to calculate the[moment of inertia], *I*, of the pendulum about the axis of rotation. We assume a massless stick of length *L* and a [point mass|point particle] *m* at the end. The moment of inertia is simply
\\
{latex}\begin{large} \[ I = mL^{2} \]\end{large}{latex}
\\
If we pull the pendulum away from its vertical [equilibrium position] by an angle {*}θ{*}, then the [restoring force] *F{~}res{~}* is given by 
\\
{latex}\begin{large} \[ F_{res} = m g sin(\theta) \]\end{large}{latex}
\\  
And the natural frequency, as noted in the vocabulary entry on [pendulum], is given by

\\
{latex}\begin{large} \[ \omega = \sqrt{\frac{g}{L}} \]\end{large}{latex}
\\

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