Kristian BallabaniExtended Essay in Physics

May 2012

Extended Essay in Physics

An Investigation into Eddy Currents

Kristian Ballabani

Candidate Number: 000017-xxx

May 2012
Word count: 3892

Kristian BallabaniExtended Essay in Physics

May 2012

Abstract
Electromagnetism is present everywhere in our everyday life. One of these
electromagnetic phenomena is Eddy currents. An interesting use of Eddy
currents in everyday life is what is called the Eddy current braking. This essay
investigates the relationship between voltage across a coil that is
producing a magnetic field, and the time it takes for an aluminium
sheet oscillating through the field to be brought to a stop.
In order to acquire accurate data, a lot of time measurements were taken at
different voltages. Pendulums made of aluminium, with slots cut on them were
used and their size was kept the same throughout the experiment. Lubricant oil
and a bearing were also used to reduce friction.
The analysed results and the graphs plotted from the data collected show a
decrease of the decaying time when the voltage increases. Secondly, an increase
of the decaying time is shown whilst an increase of the number of slots on the
aluminium sheets occurs. The decaying time decreases exponentially when the
voltage across the coil is increased. This statement was proven throughout the
investigation. Moreover, a slower brake arises when the number of slots
increases.
The decrease in the decaying time is due to stronger magnetic fields, inducing
stronger currents that oppose the motion of the pendulum. These stronger
magnetic fields occur at higher voltages. The slots do not allow the Eddy currents
to form, thus making the damping effects weaker- weaker damping means a
bigger decaying time.
My extended essay gives a full analysis of the data and presents two different
proofs to support my argument; it also presents a more detailed conclusion and
evaluation of the investigation.

Word count: 278 words

Kristian BallabaniExtended Essay in Physics

May 2012

Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Chris Vaudin, the Atlantic College laboratory technician, who
helped me with setting up the equipment for my experiment.
I would also like to thank Gabor Vincze, my Physics teacher, for all his support
and guidance throughout the development of my extended essay.

Kristian BallabaniExtended Essay in Physics

May 2012

Content
Abstract
..
Acknowledgements

Introduction
.
Theoretical
background
..
Experimental setup
a. The
equipment
..
b. The
variables

c. The experimental
procedure...................................................................................
Hypothesis

Analysis of raw
data
..
a. Theoretical
proof
..
b. The data-based
proof

Conclusion
.
Evaluation
.
Bibliography

Pa
ge

2
3
5
5

9
9
9

10

12

12
13
14

Kristian BallabaniExtended Essay in Physics

May 2012

..
Appendix
..

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Kristian BallabaniExtended Essay in Physics

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1. Introduction
Electromagnetism is one of the most common phenomena in our everyday life. It
is found everywhere, in electric motors, sound systems, electromagnets,
computers and many other products. In 1831, a famous scientist called Michael
Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction. This discovery enabled
technology to expand in a new direction. His discovery stated that any change of
the magnetic flux through a loop will induce an emf and a current within the
circuit. Faradays discovery, however, did not determine the direction of these
currents.
In 1834, after much observation and experimentation, Heinrich Friedrich Lenz
discovered a simple rule. Lenzs law states that: The direction of any magnetic
induction effect is such as to oppose the cause of the effect1. Lenzs law is valid
for circuits, loops and wires, and also applies to currents which are set up on
sheets of a conductive material. The direction of the magnetic field created
around these currents opposes the change in magnetic flux. These currents flow
in either two or three dimensions, and resemble swirling eddies in a river- which
is the reason they are called eddy currents.
The presence of Eddy currents in the iron core of electromagnetic devices
reduces the efficiency of these devices by a considerable amount. Despite the
downside caused by this phenomenon, these currents can also be used
beneficially. Eddy currents are often used in metal detectors, as well as being
utilised as an efficient, and relatively low cost way to bring large vehicles such as
trains, trucks and Formula 1 cars to a braking stop. A very common experiment
in Physics, is investigating the Eddy current damping effect on a pendulum, this
is also known as the Waltenhofen pendulum- which is composed of a physical
pendulum made of a non-ferromagnetic, conducting material, such as aluminum,
which is set swinging between the poles of a strong magnet. What is interesting
is how the pendulum comes to a stop in a relatively short period of time.
However, when slots are cut from the pendulum, the damping effect becomes
much smaller, and is only detected in very strong magnetic fields and high
currents.
Although I have read about this experiment in many Physics books, I never
managed to gather further information about this phenomenon; and so I decided
that in this essay, I will investigate the relationship between voltage
across the electromagnet being used in the experiment, and the
stopping time of the pendulum.

2. Theoretical Background2

1 Hugh D. Young, Roger A. Freedman, University Physics, Massachusetts:

Addison-Wesley, p. 951
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The central principle of this phenomenon is the electromagnetic induction. The

current flowing in the coil is alternating current, constantly changing, thus
causing a change in the magnetic flux with time. The pendulum itself by moving
in the magnetic field is cutting the magnetic field lines, also causing a change in
the magnetic flux. Then, there is an induced emf in the sheet. Faradays law
gives the value of this induced emf, which states that: The induced emf in a
closed loop equals the negative of the time rate of change of magnetic flux
through the loop. Algebraically this could be expressed as following:

Where is the electromotive force and B is the magnetic flux. The next
question is the direction of the induced emf. Observations and experiments led
into a simple rule discovered Heinrich Friedrich Lenz in 1834. Lenzs law states
that: The direction of any magnetic induction effect is such as to oppose the
cause of the effect. The cause of the effect may be a changing magnetic flux in
a stationary conductor due to a varying magnetic field, changing flux due to
motion of the conductors that make up the circuit or any combination. If the flux
change is due to motion of the conductors, the direction of the induced current in
the moving conductor is such that the direction of the magnetic field force on the
conductor is opposite direction to its motion. Thus, the motion of the conductor is
opposed.
Many pieces of electrical equipment contain masses of metal moving in magnetic
fields or located in changing magnetic fields. Thus we have induced currents
that circulate through the metal. As mentioned before, these currents resemble
the swirling eddies in a river, we call them Eddy currents. Through Lenzs law, we
can determine the direction of Eddy currents. The direction of Eddy currents is
that it opposes the change in magnetic flux. Thus, the motion of conductors is
opposed. We call this phenomenon Eddy current damping. As an example we
can take a metallic disk rotating between the poles of a magnet with the
magnetic field being perpendicular to the plane of the disk.

2 Hugh D. Young, Roger A. Freedman, University Physics, Massachusetts: AddisonWesley, pp. 941-958

Kristian BallabaniExtended Essay in Physics

May 2012

Figure 13

Sector Ob is moving across the field and has an induced emf in it. Sectors Oa and
Oc are not in the field but provide conducting paths for charges displaced along
sector Ob. The result is the formation of Eddy currents in the disk as shown in
figure a. We can use Lenzs law to determine the direction of the currents. The
current must experience a force F=I x l x B that opposes the motion of the disk
so it must be to the right. Using the right hand rule we can find out that I has a
downward direction. (Figure B) The interaction between the Eddy currents and
the field causes a braking action on the disk. The motion is stopped very quickly.
However, when slots are cut from the disk the braking effect is smaller. This
happens because the slots do not allow the eddy currents to circulate in the
conducting material.

3. Experimental Setup

a.Equipment
In my experiment, I used the Waltenhofen pendulum, which is a piece of
equipment composed of an aluminium sheet (the pendulum itself), a coil and a
U-shaped iron core which is placed through the coil. On top of the iron core,
there are two cone-shaped conductors that concentrate the magnetic field- the
pendulum runs between these two conductors. In order to accomplish my
3 Hugh D. Young, Roger A. Freedman, University Physics, Massachusetts:
Addison-Wesley, pp. 957-958
8

Kristian BallabaniExtended Essay in Physics

May 2012

experiment, I made use of four different pendulums, a two terminal variable

resistor (or rheostat), and an ordinary stopwatch.
The four types of pendulum I made use of each had a different number of slots,
one no slot pendulum, a one slot, a three slot and a five slot one. These
pendulums are made of rectangular sheets of aluminium, and they all have the
same dimensions; however, their mass is not the same because the number of
the slots cut into each aluminium sheet varies for every pendulum. Due to the
relative insignificance of these variations in mass, I did not take this difference
into consideration throughout my investigation in order to make it simpler; but I
will explain and evaluate this problem further, later on in the essay.
I had access to an ordinary potentiometer used for school demonstrations, which
I utilised to change the voltage across the coil. This is a variable resistor with a
third movable sliding contact that provides a voltage range of zero to 260V. This
is the same voltage range that was applied during my experiment. I made use of
the stopwatch to measure the stopping time of pendulum. The stopwatch I used,
could measure time to the hundredth of a second. There is a depiction of the
entire apparatus I used shown below in Figure 2:

Figure 2

b.The Variables

Kristian BallabaniExtended Essay in Physics

May 2012

As mentioned above, I am investigating how the damping effect varies based

on the change in the number of slots cut in the pendulum and the change in
voltage across the electromagnet. To carry out the investigation, I chose to
control the voltage across the electromagnet and as the independent variable I
chose time of the damping of the aluminum sheet under the effect of Eddy
currents created in the pendulum. Throughout the essay I will refer to this time
as the decaying time.
The change in voltage is followed by a change in the magnetic field strength.
Technically, it is the current which is proportional to the magnetic field strength.
However, voltage is directly proportional to the current in this case, since the coil
used in the experiment is an Ohmic resistor. According to Ohms law, V=I/R,
where R is constant, the voltage is directly proportional to the current. Therefore,
when the voltage increases, the magnetic field strength increases. Following this
logic, I carried out the experiment changing the voltage and measuring the time
it takes to bring the pendulum in rest. Controlling the current is a very
complicated task, and so I decided to vary the voltage instead of changing the
current. The decaying time was my independent variable.
Part of my investigation is also exploring the effect that the number of slots has
on the decaying time. This may be considered a significant variable; however,
my interest lies in finding the relationship between decaying time and voltage
across the coil. The effect of the slots will be described later on.

c. The Experimental Method

The experimental procedure was very simple, I changed the voltage from zero to
260V consecutively every 20V in ascending order (0, 20, 40, 60, and so on) For
every voltage value, I measured the time it took for the sheet to be brought to a
stop. The sheet was put into motion by displacing it from its equilibrium position
by an angle of 80 5 degrees and then releasing it without exerting any force.
The angle remained the same throughout the entire experiment. Then, using the
aforementioned stopwatch, I measured the time it took for the pendulum to stop.
Since it is difficult to identify whether or not the pendulum has come to a full
stop, I arbitrarily chose two points in which if the pendulum did not exceed in its
oscillation, I would consider it to be at rest. I repeated several runs for each
voltage value, in order to minimize the random error. I recorded three decaying
time values for each voltage value and calculated the arithmetic mean. The
same procedure was followed for each one of the pendulums.
I must acknowledge the slight variations between each different pendulum I
made use of, such as the small difference in their mass and the friction
conditions which were hard to maintain. While changing the aluminum sheets I
found difficulties in maintaining a constant frictional force applied between the
steel axle and the aluminum sheet. This is due to the difference in mass
between the different sheets, meaning that the frictional force would change as
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Kristian BallabaniExtended Essay in Physics

May 2012

well. It is hard to believe that cutting slots into an aluminum sheet would cause a
considerable difference in mass, but aluminum is a relatively dense material, and
the sheets used were quite thick, thus increasing the difference in mass
variation. In order to minimize friction, I used a bearing and lubricant oil;
however, this variable was ignored during the experiment since it does not affect
the strength of the Eddy currents.

4.Hypothesis
By looking at the graphs that I plotted from the raw data and their trend, I
formulated the hypothesis: The mathematical relationship between the
voltage across the coil and the decaying time is exponential. The
decaying time decreases exponentially while voltage across the coil
increases. I made the assumption that this relationship would be similar to the
one described by the following equation

decaying time=a nV
Where

and n are constants and V is the voltage across the coil. This

argument will be developed in the following sections using two different

methods.

5.Analysis of Raw Data

For each voltage, three time measurements were taken and the average value
was used in plotting my graphs. The graphs make use of error bars, to account
for the time uncertainty, which I decided would be 1 seconds. This uncertainty
may be larger than the one that can be calculated by the data because it also
includes human error. There was an obvious opportunity for the occurrence of
human error when I was coordinating the release of the pendulum with pressing
the start button on the stopwatch. When measuring voltage, I was also faced
with an uncertainty, the rheostat I had access to, was a simple analogue
potentiometer using a coil with a wiper moving over the upper surface of the
toroid coil, sliding from one turn of the wire to the next one- due to this feature,
errors can often occur. The uncertainty for voltage is 5V, calculated as the
smallest voltage value you can measure with the available rheostat.
To start developing my argument, I analyzed voltage vs. time graphs that were
generated from the raw data. As I hypothesized, with the increase in voltage,
the decaying time decreases- which means that the damping effect is stronger
for higher voltages. I also noticed that with the increase of the number of slots
there is also an increase in decaying time for each voltage value. The damping
effect becomes weaker when we increase the number of slots in the pendulum.
While I was doing the experiment, I noticed that the damping effect becomes
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Kristian BallabaniExtended Essay in Physics

May 2012

practically insignificant when the number of slots increases. This is clearly

illustrated in my graphs and data.4 If we put the all the graphs in the same plan,
It is clear that when starting from the graph of the pendulum with zero slots, the
graphs become less steep. Only by looking at the data, we could see that for
lower voltages (zero to sixty volts) in pendulums no. 3 and pendulum no.4 with 3
and 5 slots respectively5, the difference in the decaying time is very small, and
the damping effect is minute. This occurrence is due to the fact that the slots do
not allow the Eddy currents to be formed in the pendulum, causing the damping
effect to be very weak.
I used the software Logger Pro 3.0 to plot my graphs and analyze them. I also
used this software to analyze the nature of the graphs by simply trying to fit
different functions over the points. For the first pendulum, I could fit several
functions almost perfectly over the points I had plotted, an incidence that both
confused me and made me consider the cause of it.
At this point, I had not yet realized that the method I was using was wrong.
Although the software allowed me the option of fitting different functions on the
plotted points, I eventually realized that it was making every function fit, but that
this does not necessarily determine the correct function. After plotting and
analyzing the other graphs, the idea of an exponential relationship existing
between the voltage and the decaying time was reinforced. I decided to use my
knowledge of physics and mathematics to prove this argument. First, I tried to
prove it theoretically, and then I used the data I collected to prove my
hypothesis. Both of these proofs are presented in the following sections:

a.The Theoretical Proof

The current flowing in the coil is constantly changing sinusoidally, thus the
magnetic flux is constantly changing with time. The aluminum sheet moves
through the magnetic field, this is caused by the current flowing into the coil,
giving rise to a change in the magnetic flux. According to Faradays law, there is
an induced emf in the aluminum sheet which is moving through the magnetic
field.
The Lorentz force on an electric charge q in magnetic field B is

F=qv B ,

where v is the velocity of the charge (assuming S.I. units) and B is the magnetic
field strength. This force is proportional to the velocity and perpendicular to the
magnetic field, and thus it is also perpendicular to the velocity.
Since the force is perpendicular to the velocity of the charge, it does no work on
the charge. Nonetheless, collisions between the accelerated charges and the
4 See Appendix
5 See Appendix
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May 2012

surrounding material cause a transfer of kinetic energy of the metal into thermal
energy. Since the induced motion is proportional to the velocity of the plate with
respect to the applied magnetic field, Eddy currents cause a damping force that
is proportional to the velocity:

Feddy =bv , where b is a damping

coefficient

proportional to the magnetic field strength. This force can be expressed as

dv
=bv , where m is the mass of the pendulum and
dt

dv /dt

is the

acceleration.
This equation can be rewritten as following:

dv
=v where is
dt

b/m . This

is clearly a differential equation, which can be solved by separating the

variables:

dv=v dt

1
dv= dt
v
1

v dv= dt
ln ( v ) =t
v ( t )=et
We now have the velocity as a function of time. These equations would perfectly
describe the motion of a conductor in a straight line through the magnetic field.
The motion of the pendulum is complicated to describe mathematically for two
reasons: first, the velocity of the pendulum is constantly changing sinusoidally,
and second, the pendulum moves because of gravity. In order to simplify my
problem, I will have to ignore these two facts. It is crucial to notice that the
decaying time (the time I am investigating) and the time appearing in the
equations above are not the same. The decaying time is the time it takes for the
pendulum to be brought to a rest, and the time appearing in the equation is the
time during which the charges move in the magnetic field. Following the
assumption above, lets continue the proof.
The velocity decreases exponentially as the time increases. As I want to prove
that the decaying time decreases exponentially as the voltage increases, I am
going to differentiate the velocity equation with respect to time. The derivative of
the velocity with respect to time expresses the acceleration as a function of time
and .
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Kristian BallabaniExtended Essay in Physics

May 2012

dv
= et
dt
The crucial argument in attempting to prove my hypothesis is displayed as
follows:
We can deduce from the previous equation, that the acceleration changes
exponentially, and that the larger the negative acceleration, the faster it will take
for the aluminium sheet to be brought to a rest- therefore the decaying time will
be smaller.
The acceleration is directly proportional to , with this in mind we can deduce
that is proportional to the voltage; and therefore, the higher the voltage, the
larger the negative acceleration and the smaller the decaying time. The fact that
acceleration changes exponentially and is proportional to the voltage implies
that the graph of voltage vs. time will be exponential. This brings us to the
conclusion that: The decaying time decreases exponentially with the
increase of the voltage going through the coil.
I did not find this proof to be enough to fully support my argument due to the
assumptions made, and so I used the data that I collected to further support my
hypothesis:

b.The Data-based Proof

The relationship I want to prove is:

decaying time=a nV . The method I am

going to use to prove this relationship is called the logarithm analysis method.
To accomplish this, I am going to take the logarithms of both sides of the
equation as shown below:

log ( T ) =log ( a nV )
log ( T ) =log ( a ) +V log ( n )
I then plotted a voltage V vs. log (T) graph. The condition now becomes: If this
graph is a straight line, then it means that this relationship is exponential. After
plotting the graphs6, I analyzed them, drew the best-fit lines, and calculated the
gradients and the constants for each of the graphs. It is obvious that all the
graphs are straight lines showing linear functions with a negative gradient, this
proves my hypothesis that: The relationship between the voltage across
the coil and the decaying time is an exponential relationship. However,
this does not give a full mathematical description of this relationship.
6 See Appendix- these graphs are displayed in the appendix under the name:
Transformed graphs used for log analysis
14

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6.Conclusion
According to the data collected alongside the graphs and observations made,
one would conclude the following:

Higher voltages and currents would produce stronger magnetic fields

thus increasing the effect of Eddy currents.
The more slots there are on the conductors, the weaker the effect of the
Eddy currents will be, since the slots do not allow Eddy currents to be
formed.
Finally, as shown by the proofs above: The relationship between the
voltage across the coil and the decaying time is exponential,
and the decaying time decreases exponentially with the increase
of the voltage across the coil.

7.Evaluation
I would say that in general, my investigation went quite well. I had to make my
own pendulums and create my own methods of collecting and analysing the data
I collected. Furthermore, I managed to prove my hypothesis concerning the
exponential relationship between voltage and decaying time, unfortunately, I did
not find an exact mathematical relationship between these variables.
I encountered problems and faced difficulties throughout my investigation,
mostly during the experimental procedures. While writing this essay, I described
these issues, and the methods I explored to solve them, so to carry on with my
investigation, a summary of these issues can be found in the following
paragraphs.
Some of the practical difficulties I experienced include:
The unequal frictional forces between the steel axle and the pendulums I usedtechnically the decaying time when no magnetic force is applied, should be the
same for all the pendulums. However, the difference of the decaying time of the
pendulum no. 1, with zero slots, and pendulum no. 4, with 5 slots, is quite
significant. This occurrence was due to the variation of the mass of the
aluminium strips I used- based on the number of slots they had. Since mass is
directly proportional to frictional force, the frictional force was bound to change.
In theory, the frictional force should have decreased when using the pendulums
with smaller masses; however, the decaying time when the voltage is zero, is
actually decreasing. This led to me to believe that the mass affects the motion
of the pendulum, but ultimately it does not. I did not concentrate on this issue,
since my focus was to find the relationship between voltage and decaying time.
If I was to redo the experimental stage of my investigation, I would use light15

Kristian BallabaniExtended Essay in Physics

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weight pendulums that consist of a metallic rod connected at the end, to a small,
thin, metallic sheet which would have facilitated the practicality of my
experiment.
The theoretical issues I experienced include:
A significant theoretical issue I encountered was following a method which was
incorrect, while trying to find the relationship between voltage and decaying
time. I was also using a graphing program to find the function that fit the points I
had graphed, without realizing that the software automatically fits every function
with the points, not necessarily giving the correct equation.
Concerning the method, there are certain issues I encountered in my theoretical
proof that I feel need mentioning. My equations did not adequately describe the
motion of a pendulum, and I also ignored the force of gravity and its effect on the
pendulum. Therefore, I had to think of an alternative way to support my
argument- and I made use of the logarithm analysis method in order to prove the
relationship I was investigating.
Ideally, I would have had access to more modern equipment, but as my supplies
were limited to what was available to me in my schools laboratory,
unfortunately, I had to make due with slightly out-of-date equipment. I would
have also benefitted from having more time to further investigate this topic,
through further experimentation in order to find an exact mathematical
relationship between voltage and decaying time. I hope I will have the
opportunity to complete my investigation into this topic later on in university.

8.Bibliography

UNIVERSITY PHYSICS HUGH D. YOUNG ROGER A. FREEDMAN ADDISONWESLEY PUBLISHING COMPANY INC. 1996 USA
http://www.ussdiscovery.com/30_16_Eddy_currents.jpg 07/10/2011
07:47
http://www.physics.hmc.edu What makes things tick? 07/10/2011
07:47

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddy_current

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potentiometer

Experiments with eddy current: the eddy current brake Manuel I Gonz
alez
Departamento de Fsica, Universidad de Burgos, 09006 Burgos, Spain
Published 20 April 2004
Online at stacks.iop.org/EJP/25/463 (DOI: 10.1088/01430807/25/4/001)
16

Kristian BallabaniExtended Essay in Physics

May 2012

Update on eddy-current damping experiments/Mike Plissi/Institute for

Gravitational
Research/University of Glasgow/LIGO-G03045300-Z
http://www.karinthy.hu

Eddy Currents Wikipedia-Available from the World Wide Web <URL:!!$$!

> (Accessed 18th October 2011)
Stoll, R. L. (1974). The analysis of eddy currents. Oxford University Press
Krawczyk, Andrzej; J. A. Tegopoulos. Numerical modelling of eddy currents
1. ^ F. Fiorillo, Measurement and characterisation of magnetic
materials, Elsevier Academic Press, 2004, ISBN 0-12-257251-3,
page. 31
2. ^ http://www.ndted.org/EducationResources/CommunityCollege/EddyCurrents/Physic
s/depthcurrentdensity.htm
3. ^ Seong-Soo Cho, Sang-Beom Kim, Joon-Young Soh, Sang-Ok Han,
Effect of Tension Coating on Iron Loss at Frequencies Below 1 kHz in
Thin-Gauged 3% Si-Fe Sheets, IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, Vol.
45, No. 10, October 2009, p. 4165-4168

9. Appendix
a. THE RAW DATA COLLECTED FROM THE EXPERIMENT
Voltage 5V

0 SLOT ALUMINUM SHEET

Time 1 1s
Time 2 1s
Time 3 1s

20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
220
240

41.54
38.73
33.60
31.82
28.25
25.62
24.04
20.12
18.67
17.25
15.66
14.37

42.63
36.72
32.78
31.78
28.49
26.47
24.17
21.00
18.69
16.62
16.03
14.17

43.15
35.52
33.78
31.59
28.85
26.48
23.97
21.35
18.99
17.25
15.57
14.39

Average time
1s
42.44
36.99
33.39
31.73
28.53
26.19
24.06
21.00
18.78
17.04
15.75
14.31
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260

12.59

12.84

May 2012
12.76

Voltage 5V

1 SLOT AUMINIUM SHEET

Time 1 1s
Time 2 1s
Time 3 1s

0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
220
240
260

38.62
37.76
36.73
34.84
32.73
31.44
28.59
26.28
24.45
22.35
20.19
18.50
17.66
16.36

Voltage 5V

3 SLOT ALUMINIUM SHEET

Time 1 1s
Time 2 1s
Time 3 1s

0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
220
240
260

37.33
36.24
36.51
35.19
33.90
33.78
31.78
29.43
27.33
26.75
26.19
25.01
22.16
20.64

Voltage 5V
0

20

38.06
37.97
36.35
34.68
33.21
31.53
28.56
26.43
24.31
22.57
19.82
18.57
17.68
16.35

37.26
37.16
35.46
35.36
34.79
33.11
29.04
29.83
28.44
27.19
26.40
23.55
23.02
20.19

38.56
36.85
36.59
35.15
32.68
30.92
28.63
26.31
24.28
21.42
19.97
18.70
17.31
16.56

36.85
37.76
36.10
34.67
34.00
33.46
29.57
29.38
27.82
27.49
25.62
23.68
22.56
19.64

5 SLOT ALUMINUM SHEET

Time 1 1s
Time 2 1s
Time 3 1s
33.21
32.81

33.25
33.11

33.04
32.37

12.73

Average
time1s
38.41
37.52
36.56
34.89
32.87
31.30
28.59
26.34
24.35
22.11
19.99
18.59
17.55
16.42

Average
time1s
37.15
37.05
36.02
35.07
34.23
33.45
30.13
29.55
27.76
27.14
26.07
24.08
22.58
20.16

Average time
1s
33.17
32.76
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Kristian BallabaniExtended Essay in Physics

40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
220
240
260

32.04
31.84
32.10
31.50
31.05
31.32
28.34
28.74
28.16
27.09
26.63
26.09

32.56
32.44
31.53
31.59
31.16
29.01
29.03
28.26
27.78
27.19
26.38
25.92

May 2012
32.56
32.18
31.75
31.63
31.47
29.48
28.94
28.50
27.60
27.02
26.82
26.09

32.39
32.15
31.79
31.57
31.23
29.94
28.77
28.50
27.85
27.10
26.61
26.03

b. ORIGINAL GRAPHS PLOTTED FROM THE RAW DATA

19

Kristian BallabaniExtended Essay in Physics

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20

Kristian BallabaniExtended Essay in Physics

May 2012

c. TRANSFORMED GRAPHS USED FOR THE LOG ANALYSIS

21

Kristian BallabaniExtended Essay in Physics

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Kristian BallabaniExtended Essay in Physics

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d. DETAILS ABOUT THE PENDULUMS

Pendulum
nr.
1
2
3
4

Nr. of slots

Mass (gr)

0
1
3
5

75.09
74.06
75.12
72.96

Height
(mm)
170
170
170
170

Length
(mm)
50
50
50
50

Width (mm)
3
3
3
3

23