TexNET > Exhibits > Motion > Pendulum Snake ..

Ten brass weights hang from strings of different lengths. Visitors activate the array of pendulums, which swing back and forth. The timing of each pendulum's motion depends upon its length. Although the weights swing independently, they appear to move together, first in a line, then as a snake. After several periods, the motion becomes seemingly random, and then gradually organizes itself again as the snake pattern returns and the cycle repeats.