Rectangular Compound Pendulums (Journal Article)

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Abstract: The small-amplitude periods of uniform rectangular compound pendulums, suspended from a corner, are
⁠, where g is the acceleration due to gravity; i.e., the period only depends on the length l of the diagonal, and not on the aspect ratio of the rectangle, so it is the same for a square pendulum and a thin rectangular rod. Rectangular pendulums of a variety of aspect ratios were cut from a sheet of cardboard. A thin pin at one corner, or one quarter along the diagonal, functioned as the pivot. The equipment is simple and readily available, so this can be a take-home experiment with students using their smartphones as stopwatches.