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MENTAL MODEL · M4487

Foucault Pendulum

Foucault Pendulum
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-28

CORE DEFINITION

The Foucault pendulum (English: Foucault pendulum, Foucault's pendulum), named after French physicist Léon Foucault, is a simple device used to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth. Although people have long known that the Earth rotates, the Foucault pendulum was the first to prove it with a simple experiment. Today, it is a popular exhibit in many science museums and universities.

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The Foucault pendulum (English: Foucault pendulum, Foucault's pendulum), named after French physicist Léon Foucault, is a simple device used to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth. Although people have long known that the Earth rotates, the Foucault pendulum was the first to prove it with a simple experiment. Today, it is a popular exhibit in many science museums and universities.

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According to the law of inertia, the plane of oscillation remains fixed in an inertial frame; ground observers see the plane slowly rotate because the Earth beneath it is rotating. The angular velocity of rotation depends on latitude (fastest at the poles, zero at the equator), thus visually demonstrating that it is the Earth rotating, not the pendulum's plane.

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Source support: Explicit

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    zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%82%85%E7%A7%91%E6%91%86ZH · Explicit
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