2005 HS Photo Contest Pictures

2005 High School Photo Contest Winners
Sponsored by Vernier Software and Technology
2005 AAPT Summer Meeting , Salt Lake City, UT

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Third Place - Contrived Category

Title: Rotation of the Earth and the Pendulum
Student: Lindsay Comodore
School: Manasquan High School, Manasquan, NJ
Teacher: Mr. James Freda

A pendulum swings back and forth with just the force of gravity acting upon it. Although appearing to swing in a straight line, over time it actually rotates clockwise due to Earth’s rotation. To demonstrate this, I suspended a flashlight in a dark room to swing above a camera with an open lens. I covered the flashlight with cardboard and cut a small hole in the middle. I swung the flashlight, pushed down a lever attached to the camera that would open the lens, and tightened it so that it would stay open. When I returned an hour later, I loosened the lever and let the lens close, capturing the effect of the Earth rotating. When the pictures were developed, the path of the pendulum (light) was shown slowly turning clockwise.