Swinging Magnets

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From: Sidney Keith (sidkeith@hotmail.com)
Date: Tue Sep 07 1999 - 08:10:43 PDT 

Message-ID: <19990907151043.80898.qmail@hotmail.com>
From: "Sidney Keith" <sidkeith@hotmail.com>
Subject: Swinging Magnets
Date: Tue, 07 Sep 1999 08:10:43 PDT

I've been showing my classes a neat toy I purchased at the Exploratorium
store -- five magnets suspended as pendula from a rod, which swing together
like the metal balls on desktops. When only two of the magnets are left
attached to the rod and free to swing, pushing one begins a strange pattern
-- one stays still while the other swings back and forth, then they change
places -- the other one stays still. This alternation goes on until all
motion dies down. If the two are started in time together, however, they
continue to swing as a pair and no alternation of swing develops. The
brochure says the alternation is an example of "coupling" between the
magnets; how can I explain it to the students using basic concepts of
harmonic motion, momentum and energy?

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