Getting the Period of a Spring-Operated Physical Pendulum
A juicy physics problem that requires delving into the differential equation for pendulum motion. A rod of mass M on a pivot a distance r from the end is driven by a spring of constant k pulling the end back and forth to make an (admittedly stupid) physical pendulum. We have to show that its period T is given by $latex T^2 = 4\pi \frac{M}{3kr^2} (L^2 + 3r^2 -3rl) &s=3$.