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Why does a pendulum eventually stop swinging?

Answer
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163.2k+ views
Hint: Because of air resistance, the pendulum finally comes to a halt. Friction causes the pendulum to lose energy. Only in a theoretical circumstance with negligible friction can the pendulum continue to oscillate indefinitely.

Complete step by step solution:
The pendulum naturally tends to swing back and forth in an arc. When something stops the pendulum from swinging, it will eventually run out of energy and stop. When an object is formed on the motion path, it will eventually settle on a new equilibrium position. If you can keep something stable, then it will not move at all. However, if you release the force that was making something move, it will start moving again.

The idea behind this is that we should understand how energy balance plays a role in frictionless motion and stop thinking about gravity as a limit to this process because when you take away gravity, friction would be responsible for stopping the object from moving. The pendulum is an old physics concept that has been around for centuries. It consists of a weighted bar with a pivot point which moves in a circular motion.

As the weight is set to swing, the pendulum will move on forever until it reaches its arc length and stops. This simple law of physics demonstrates that action and reaction are like yin and yang. One cannot exist without the other. The same law applies to many things in life, ranging from behaviour (people tend to act when they feel threatened) to economics (boom-and-bust cycles). The pendulum eventually stops swinging because the force of gravity overcomes the natural tendency for the pendulum to move. The law of inertia is responsible for this movement.

Note: A pendulum eventually stops swinging as it reaches its maximum swing. The size of the system limits the amplitude of the swing and also considers the friction in the system. The friction causes a dampening effect to slow down and halt the pendulum movement.