FRESHMAN PROJECTS Jessica Fiddes
Austin Stover
Austin Stover built a Foucault Pendulum for his Freshman Project.
Austin Stover: Designing A Foucault Pendulum For his Freshman Project Austin Stover researched and built a model of a Foucault pendulum… When Austin Stover first walked by Delbarton’s Foucault Pendulum in the Science Pavilion he was intrigued. How did it work? For his Freshman project he decided to find out, and he ended up building a pendulum of his own. The Foucault pendulum is named for French physicist Léon Foucault, and is designed to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth. Introduced in 1851, the Foucault pendulum was the first proof of planetary rotation. Like many young men before him, Austin Stover likes to assemble science kits and has a keen interest in engineering. In fact, as a
Delbarton freshman he helped out with both the First Tech and the Panasonic Design Challenges. Once he started his Freshman Project he quickly realized that the Foucault Pendulum was not simply a construction project, but one that also requires an understanding of electrical forces. He reached out to AP Physics teacher Greg Devine for a tutorial on electricity. Stover’s uncle, owner of a NYC furniture company, shared tools our Pendulum builder lacked, and his dad helped buy materials and make some of the more difficult (read: dangerous) cuts. An Auto Cad course Stover took during freshman year at Delbarton also came in handy. One of his greatest challenges was understanding the effect of magnetic fields. “I learned a lot”, he says, and his interest in engineering has been further piqued.
Bernie Roesler '08
French physicist Léon Foucault designed his pendulum in 1851 to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth. This impressive Foucault Pendulum is on display at the Pantheon in Paris. A close up of the electrical hub.
Meanwhile, in 2008 digital photography student Bernie Roeseler ’08 took this photo of Delbarton’s Foucault Pendulum.
22 D ELBARTON TODAY