Pendulum Art: Simple Harmonic Motion with a TWIST!
A Lissajous pattern created by a paint pendulum.Copyright Mukherjee
Students take on the role of biomedical engineers by designing and building paint pendulums that model oscillatory signals similar to brain waves. By combining pendulum motion in two perpendicular directions, students create Lissajous patterns that provide a visual representation of interacting oscillations, like the signals analyzed in electroencephalograms (EEGs). Along the way, they explore simple harmonic motion and discover how pendulum motion becomes more complex when a pendulum oscillates in multiple directions simultaneously. Through designing, testing, and improving their pendulums, students gain a deeper understanding of harmonic motion, mathematical modeling, and the engineering design process while creating a unique piece of pendulum art.
Biomedical engineers design technologies that measure and analyze brain waves, such as electroencephalograms (EEGs), to better understand how the brain functions. They study the oscillations produced by groups of neurons to identify normal brain activity and detect conditions such as epilepsy, sleep disorders, and brain injuries. By analyzing the frequency, amplitude, and patterns of these oscillations, biomedical engineers develop tools that help doctorsS2454546 diagnose and monitor neurological conditions. They also create innovative technologies such as brain-computer interfaces, which use brain wave signals to help people communicate with or control devices using their thoughts.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Use the complete engineering design process.
- Describe simple harmonic motion as it appears in a pendulum.
- Recognize the determining variables for simple harmonic motion in a pendulum (length and gravity).
- Understand that not all real-life pendulums are “simple.”