Observing a Pendulum

Classical Mechanics Level 1

Patrick learnt the law of conservation of energy in school today, and decided to test it at home.

He pulled up the pendulum and released it from rest. Patrick observed that, contrary to his prediction, the pendulum did not go up to its initial height.

Which of the following best explains Patrick's observations?

Some of the energy must have been dissipated as heat. Patrick must have used a faulty pendulum Patrick disproved the law of conservation of energy Patrick must have made measurement errors

Pranshu Gaba by Pranshu Gaba

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1 solution

The law of conservation of energy states:

The total energy of a system is constant.

Since the pendulum is not observed in vacuum, it will liberate energy in the form of heat. This energy, if in vacuum, would have been used to get the pendulum to initial height. But, the pendulum dissipated energy as heat, even if the total energy of the system is constant. Hence, the law of conservation of energy hasn't(can't, actually) be proven wrong.

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