Objective: Confirm the conservation of energy with the help of Maxwell’s wheel
Maxwell’s wheel is suspended from threads at both ends of its axle in such a way that it can roll along the threads. In the course of its motion, potential energy is converted into kinetic energy and back again. The process of rolling up and down is repeated until the potential energy derived from the initial height of the wheel is entirely lost due to reflection losses and friction. In this experiment the movement of Maxwell’s wheel is recorded with an ultrasonic motion sensor. From the resulting displacement versus time graph the instantaneous speed of the wheel can be determined and thereby its kinetic energy can be calculated.
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