The chaotic magnetic pendulum
Index
The VRML world below is a model of a pendulum consisting of a bob containg a
magnet that is eventually attracted to one of two magnets fixed underneath it.
The system displays chaotic behaviour which is characterised by having a (very) sensitive dependence on the initial conditions of the pendulum.
The model actually shows two pendula (red & blue) which are invisible to each other & start from slightly places. You can then observe how quickly their behaviour differs.
You can also change the strengths of magnetic & gravitational attraction.
This wrl has been developed using Cosmoplayer
(see http://www.cosmosoftware.com).
The calculations for modelling the pendulum
