Cavendish Pendulum

The core of the apparatus is a torsion pendulum made of a light bar with two small lead spheres, which is suspended horizontally from a thin wire. The apparatus is moved from its rest position by the attraction of the two spheres to two larger lead spheres. When the two large spheres are rotated to a new position, the torsion balance will vibrate about a new rest position. The rotary motion is measured using a capacitive differential sensor, which largely suppresses noise and vibration components in the signal. The output is then recorded using a computer. For subsequent evaluation, the data can be exported to a spreadsheet. Alternatively, the motion can be demonstrated with the aid of a light pointer.