According to physics department chair Professor Daniel Snowden-Ifft, the idea to install a Foucault Pendulum in the Hameetman Science Center was the vision of late Professor George Schmiedeshoff. When the pitch was first made to install the pendulum at Occidental 23 years ago, no one thought the project would be so grandiose, said Snowden-Ifft.
The Hameetman Science Center houses the physics and geology departments on Occidental’s campus, and the idea was enthusiastically received by both departments, according to Snowden-Ifft.
“The Foucault Pendulum, which was first demonstrated in 1851 by Leon Foucault, demonstrated that the earth was, in fact, rotating,” Snowden-Ifft said. “It was a physics experiment that demonstrated something about geology.”
Geology department chair Professor Margaret Rusmore said that both departments thought installing a Foucault Pendulum would be the perfect way to unite them, because one of the main goals when creating the Hameetman Science Center was to build a space that celebrates both scientific fields.
“Physics and geology are very tightly tied, as well as with chemistry and biology, because geology uses all of those fields to understand how our planet and other planets are put together,” Rusmore said. “Geology wouldn’t be geology without physics.”
Rusmore said the pendulum brings movement and life, and creates a nice thing to look at while people are sitting on the couches and working. The pendulum hangs from the cupola at the top of the Hameetman Science Center, and runs down into the main lobby.
“The architects said, ‘Why don’t we have one that goes between the two floors?’, which was not on our radar,” Snowden-Ifft said. “This certainly is the type of scale that you need for a good, working Foucault Pendulum — the longer the better.”
According to Snowden-Ifft, the architects also suggested a pattern of ellipses on the floor surrounding the pendulum, which provides a visually stunning scene.
Snowden-Ifft said the pendulum was bought from the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. The museum has its own pendulum, according to Snowden-Ifft.
The ball and wire string that make up the pendulum are run by a complex mechanical system at the top of the cupola, Snowden-Ifft said. An electromagnet is set up to pull the wire back when it gets near the edge. Snowden-Ifft said that if the electromagnet wasn’t there, the pendulum would slow down and stop due to a lack of energy.
In order to protect people from getting hurt from the pendulum, there is a rim around the display that embodies the collaboration of both departments, Rusmore said.
“That little rim is sort of a seat, but is mostly to keep people away from the pendulum because [while] it looks very cool, it’s super dangerous — it weighs about 300 pounds,” Rusmore said. “It’s [limestone] made in shallow seas that’s quite old, it’s like 100 million years old, and it has fossils in it.”
Rusmore said that in Geology 105, the rim surrounding the pendulum is a good way to demonstrate what fossils look like in limestone.
Physics major John Halloran (junior) said that the pendulum is really fun to have in the Hameetman Science Center.
“I’ve heard other students say that when they go to conferences and talk to other students, this is the thing they brag about,” Halloran said. “This is a pretty unique thing to have, especially for a small school, and it does make this whole building more interesting. I know people come in here just to see it.”
According to Halloran, there’s more to a Foucault Pendulum than people might think.
“Rather than [just] swinging back and forth, it swings around in a circle over time without any force being introduced to it,” Halloran said. “There is actually a motor up top, but the motor is designed to not introduce any rotation. The motor is intended to overcome friction.”
Halloran said that while the Foucault Pendulum leans more towards the physics side of science, there is a tangential relation to geology that is special. According to Holloran, the Hameetman Science Center is a wonderful space, and the pendulum is a special addition to an important area at Occidental.
Contact Olivia Correia at ocorreia@oxy.edu.
