Abstract
The discovery of the near isochrony of the simple pendulum offered the possibility of measuring time intervals more accurately than had been possible before. However, the fact that it was not strictly isochronous for all amplitudes remained a problem. The cycloidal pendulum provided this strict isochrony and, over a thirty year period from 1659 the analysis of the motion of this pendulum was developed. Newton‘s analysis in his Principia was both elegant and comprehensive and his argument is illustrated in this paper. It provides insights into the revolutionary nature of Newton’s thinking especially compared to the Galilean approach to understanding the motion of the simple pendulum found in early 18th century textbooks.
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References
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Gauld, C. (2005). The Treatment of Cycloidal Pendulum Motion in Newton’s Principia. In: Matthews, M.R., Gauld, C.F., Stinner, A. (eds) The Pendulum. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3526-8_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3526-8_9
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