Investigating the Quantum Behavior of Simple Pendulums through Revival Times

JSHS · 2022

Samad Hakani, Professor Michael Chapman · The Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology, Lawrenceville, GA

Overview

This experiment was conducted to better understand coherent systems by analyzing the relationship between the “quantumness” of a simple pendulum and its revival time. The researcher hypothesized that an increase in the squared ratio of the pendulum’s length to its deBroglie wavelength (a decrease in “quantumness”) would lead to an increase in the pendulum’s revival time. To test the hypothesis, a pendulum at the unstable equilibrium was evolved over time in Python. The pendulum had initial uncertainties in the angular position and velocity which were proportional to the squared ratio of length to deBroglie wavelength. The revival time was measured as the time taken for the pendulum to return to within 1% of its initial angular position (π rads). Pendulums with varying magnitudes of squared length ratios were tested.