In order to overturn the proponents of a flat Earth and a non-rotating Earth, objects that open up science should be erected in Estonia, which would have an educational as well as a commercial dimension, writes Aarne Silas in an article sent to the Edukas Eesti opinion contest.
There was a Foucault pendulum at the University of Tartu, but due to the relocation of the physicists, it no longer exists. I made a shuttle to the Gustav Adolf Gymnasium, but it was also made less efficient. Why couldn’t there be a pendulum in the lobby of the T1 shopping center, for example, that would oscillate over the model of Estonia, and a laser attached to it would draw lines on the surface in ever new places. In addition, he could overturn an object placed near his original vibrational plane.
Foucault set his pendulum to work in 1851 in the Pantheon in Paris. Even before that, physicists were sure that the Earth rotates on its axis. However, there were many non-believers who wanted tangible and visible proof of this phenomenon known to physicists. Unfortunately, even today, this phenomenon is incomprehensible to many, but when seen as an experiment, it makes the mind work towards understanding the objective laws of nature.
The need for such a device is obvious. As a student, I went to see it in Leningrad at that time. While working as a teacher at GAG, I also built a pendulum there, which was of interest to students from my school as well as from other schools.
Even now, this pendulum can be seen, although instead of a fine rope, the pendulum now consists of links made of thick wire. (The same mistake was made when rebuilding the UT pendulum.) This turns a device close to a mathematical pendulum into a physical pendulum, the movement of which is not as clean. The pendulum starts to make Lissajous shapes.
Malls, do it!
If you put the pendulum somewhere, it becomes an object of interest for many classes, where to go in physics lessons. There you could also fill out prepared worksheets and perform other device-related measurements. In several shopping centers in Moscow, Foucault’s pendulums attract the attention of students and increase the turnover of stores.
My proposed pendulum would hang from a fine rope attached to an end bearing, with a heavy body of, say, a sledgehammer at the end. I would attach a laser to the body, the lines produced on a (fluorescent) base help to monitor the Earth’s rotation.
In addition, you could place some object 10 cm away from the body, which the pendulum will overturn after a while. To increase the artistic level, the base surface could be designed as an Estonian map in cooperation with the artist of the company that owns the place.
Write down your success idea and win 10,000 euros!
Edukas Eesti is a competition of Äripäiv, Helmes, Elenger (formerly Eesti Gaas), If Kindlustuse, Ellex Raidla Advokaadibüroo, Swedbank and Verston, where we are waiting for ideas to renew Estonia’s success story and accelerate development in the form of an opinion piece.
You can participate in the competition with up to two entries, the length of the article is up to 5000 characters (including spaces). The central evaluation criteria are originality of ideas, feasibility and brilliant presentation. Grand prize brings the winner 10,000 euros, the second place 3,000 and the third 2,000 euros.
The jury consists of the owners and managers of the organizing companies, the competition is conducted by the opinion editor of Äripäv. The competition ends on March 31, 2025.
Source: www.aripaev.ee
