Pendulum SwingWilliam ChenAward: Top 100
School: albany high school This is a long exposure photo of a playground swing, made with a light that traces the path of a periodic motion. A playground swing is an example of a pendulum and harmonic motion. Attached to a fixed point, the chains are able to freely swing back and forth in a periodic motion with the force of gravity. If we consider the swing as a simple pendulum, the period is determined by the length of the chains only. If we decrease the length of the chains, the period would decrease and if we increased the length of the chains, the period would increase. But if we more accurately consider it as a physical pendulum, the length still remains a factor, however, the center of mass and the moment of inertia become factors as well. 
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