How Does the Foucault Pendulum Prove Earth's Rotation

Everyone loves watching the Foucault Pendulum at the museum. We created this special video to explain just how it works. Throughout the day, the direction of the pendulum’s swing appears to change. Actually the Earth is turning under the pendulum as it swings. At Houston’s latitude (30° N.) the pendulum will precess through 180° or halfway around each day. During this time, it will knock down all of the pins. Learn more: http://www.hmns.org/exhibits/permanent-exhibitions/pendulum/ | Houston Muse

On this day in 1851, Jean-Bernard-Leon Foucault first demonstrated the nature of the Earth’s rotation experimentally using a pendulum. Later and larger experiments further validated Foucault’s research. The same effect is demonstrated by our own four story Foucault’s Pendulum every day. Learn more: http://bit.ly/1IP6tHV | The Franklin Institute

7K views · 256 reactions | While the Earth  rotates underneath, the orientation of the #pendulum changes. First used in 1851, Foucault's pendulum was the first simple, direct way to observe Earth's rotation. : Fin Draper | Griffin Museum of Science and Industry | Facebook