Avon Lake students continue plan to design, attach large pendulum to ceiling of school library

AVON LAKE — Advanced Placement physics students at Avon Lake High School are continuing a multiyear project that will see a large pendulum designed and attached to the ceiling of the high school library. The Foucault pendulum, a device originally designed to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth, will be one of just 10 in the state. It was first conceived French physicist Jean Bernard Leon Foucault, who exhibited his device starting in 1851. Students in the AP Physics C class have been working on the science and engineering for Avon Lake's own museum-quality pendulum for three years, according to teacher John Gill. Building one is not an easy task, in part because of the electromagnets typically used to insert energy back into the pendulum to maintain an amplitude. "There are a lot of things that go into this," Gill said. "(For example), if you have a room that is too sunny, it can have problems." It also is not a cheap endeavor. Gill said initial research found the entire process could cost $50,000 to $100,000, but a contact who built a Foucault pendulum in recent times quoted the total bill closer to $300,000. "I certainly hope we don't have to spend that. My goal is to be well below that," Gill said. "But the further and further you get into it, that's just more knowledge for the kids to figure out, oh wow, this is a tough thing." Part of that cost will include modifications to a small part of the library, potentially raising the ceiling or lowering the floor to fit the approximately 30-foot-tall pendulum. Foucault pendulums do not naturally swing dramatically, so the floor area needed for the display will be just about six to eight feet in diameter. Students took the lead in planning a gala from 6 to 11 p.m. on May 7, to help raise money for the project to continue. In addition to the $100 ticket price to get in the door, raffles will be held to raise extra funds. Gill said he is also hoping he and students will network with people at the event who may have insight into Foucault pendulums. "People who are real experts in electronic controls and computer controls" are just one example of professionals he is hoping students can meet there. Space is limited at the gala, but a few tickets are still available. More information is available by email at alhs.physics.c@gmail.com. When the project is finished at an undetermined future date, Gill and his students envision the pendulum and display looking like a museum exhibit, complete with dominos set up in the ball's path to demonstrate its movement. Gill is also hoping research and design work on the project, and others like it in the future, will give an advantage to AP Physics students who hope to be accepted into elite colleges after graduation. Contact Dylan Reynolds at (440) 329-7123 or dreynolds@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @drey1357.