Modeling a Swinging Atwood Machine

Abstract

The motion of a Swinging Atwood Machine is difficult to solve for using New-tonian Mechanics. Lagrangian Mechanics, on the other hand, is an extremely useful tool for solving this system. In this lab we find the Lagrangian for a Swinging Atwood system, solve for the equations of motion, and compare our model to that of the observed motion of the system. Our model provides a good approximation of the motion, with small discrepancies due to the unknown mass of our pulley and dissipative forces.