Question

2. Some of the most accurate pendulum clocks were 'mercury-compensated' against temperature changes. Consider a steel pendulum rod 100 cm in length and supporting a pendulum bob consisting of a glass vial containing mercury. What must be the height of the mercury in the vial so that the period of the pendulum will not vary with changes in temperature? Assume the pendulum behaves like a 'simple' pendulum. Take the coefficients of linear expansion of steel and mercury to be, respectively 12 x 106/K and 61 x 10-6/K. Ignore the expansion and contraction of the glass vial

Answer 1

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