torsion pendulum

noun

, Horology.

1. a pendulum the weight of which is rotated alternately in opposite directions through a horizontal plane by the torsion of the suspending rod or spring: used for clocks intended to run a long time between windings.

Word History and Origins

Origin of torsion pendulum¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

The researchers achieved this sensitivity using a detector called a torsion pendulum, which looks like a miniature version of a mobile hanging above a child’s crib.

From Scientific American

A force on the test mass causes the torsion pendulum to rotate until it is balanced by a restoring force from the twisting of the fiber.

From Scientific American

Critically, the torsion pendulum is very insensitive to forces from distant objects, which tug on the test mass and counterbalance together and thus do not induce rotation.

From Scientific American

But even this clever torsion pendulum design did not totally isolate the test mass from the busy urban environment of daytime Vienna.

From Scientific American

Aspelmeyer believes that an improved torsion pendulum will be sensitive to gravity from masses 5,000 times smaller still—lighter than a single eyelash.

From Scientific American