Author(s)

I. A. Ciureanu¹, D. Condurache^2*

¹Department of Medical Informatics and Biostatistics, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Gr. T. Popa”, Iasi, Romania.
²Department of Theoretical Mechanics, Technical University of Iasi, Iasi, Romania.

The paper studies the motion of the Foucault Pendulum in a rotating non-inertial reference frame and provides a closed form vector solution determined by vector and matrix calculus. The solution is determined through vector and matrix calculus in both cases, for both forms of the law of motion (for the Foucault Pendulum Problem and its “Reduced Form”). A complex vector which transforms the motion equation in a first order differential equation with constant coefficients is used. Also, a novel kinematic interpretation of the Foucault Pendulum motion is given.

Foucault Pendulum, Non-Inertial Reference Frame, Closed Form Vector Solution, Complex Vector

Ciureanu, I. and Condurache, D. (2015) A Short Vector Solution of the Foucault Pendulum Problem. World Journal of Mechanics, 5, 7-19. doi: 10.4236/wjm.2015.52002.