Experimental study of chaos in a driven pendulum (Q1819438)

Experimental results are reported for a driven, damped pendulum in which steady and/or alternating torques were applied by means of a modified brushless, slotless linear motor. The pendulum coordinate was measured with an angular resolver which, in combination with an integrated circuit resolver-to-digital converter, produced readings with fourteen-bit precision. Hysteresis and ac induced steps are observed, as expected, in the torque-velocity characteristics for the pendulum. Poincaré sections, power spectra and a state diagram confirm the existence of separate regions of periodic and chaotic behaviour. This system is of particular interest because it can also serve as a mechanical analog of a current biased Josephson junction.