The Ejs Foucault Pendulum model displays the dynamics of a Foucault pendulum. The simulation is designed to show the dynamical explanation of why precession of the Foucault pendulum is slower at lower latitudes. The simulation shows simultaneously the motion with respect to the inertial coordinate system, and the motion as seen from a co-rotating point of view. You can modify this simulation if you have Ejs installed by right-clicking within the plot and selecting "Open Ejs Model" from the pop-up menu item.
Ejs Foucault Pendulum model was created using the Easy Java Simulations (Ejs) modeling tool. It is distributed as a ready-to-run (compiled) Java archive. Double clicking the ejs_nl_teunissen_FoucaultPendulum.jar file will run the program if Java is installed. Ejs is a part of the Open Source Physics Project and is designed to make it easier to access, modify, and generate computer models. Additional Ejs models for classical mechanics are available. They can be found by searching ComPADRE for Open Source Physics, OSP, or Ejs, or by visiting the author's web site: http://www.cleonis.nl/index.htm.
Please note that this resource requires
at least version 1.5 of Java (JRE).
Foucault Pendulum Model Source Code
The source code zip archive contains an XML representation of the Foucault Pendulum Model. Unzip this archive in your Ejs workspace to compile and run this model using Ejs. download 40kb .zip
Published: January 19, 2009
previous versions
C. Teunissen, Computer Program FOUCAULT PENDULUM MODEL, Version 1.0 (2009), WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=8482&DocID=943).
C. Teunissen, Computer Program FOUCAULT PENDULUM MODEL, Version 1.0 (2009), <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=8482&DocID=943>.
Teunissen, C. (2009). Foucault Pendulum Model (Version 1.0) [Computer software]. Retrieved July 14, 2025, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=8482&DocID=943
%0 Computer Program %A Teunissen, Cleon %D January 19, 2009 %T Foucault Pendulum Model %7 1.0 %8 January 19, 2009 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=8482&DocID=943
Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.