Deep in Galileo’s Groove

• Autores: Lachlan West, David Vender, Rick Barrett
• Localización: The Physics Teacher, ISSN 0031-921X, Vol. 62, Nº. 2, 2024, págs. 104-107
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Here, the acceleration of a ball rolling down a gently inclined V-shaped channel has been measured in two experiments: one using manual release with stopwatch timing and the other a mechanical release with higher-precision electronic timing. The two methods produced results with little difference. In contrast to Galileo’s description of the experiment, where a “shallow” groove is used to keep the ball traveling on a straight path, the ball here travels “deep” in the groove in the sense that the walls of the channel extend beyond the points of contact. In this case, the results are independent of ball radius.