Experimental characterisation of the motion of an inverted pendulum

Abstract

[EN] : In this paper, we present a home-made experimental set-up to study the falling movement of an inverted pendulum. The experimental set-up allows preparing a laboratory session for first year Physics or Engineering students. This set-up has been used in the Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering at the School of Design Engineering of the Universitat Politècnica de València. The experimental data are fitted to the theoretical equation of motion, obtaining a very good agreement between experiment and theory. In addition, direct measurement of the parameters involved in the equations was carried out, showing a very good agreement with the calculated parameters.