A thin rod swings freely above a wooden cabinet.   At the tip of the rod is a small magnet that passes over an electrified coil of wire.A knob controls the voltage to the coil.

As the voltage is increased the energized coil repels more powerfully against the rod’s magnetic tip. The swing of the pendulum gradually increases until the its tip travels over the top and goes around, full circle.

What fascinates is the relationship between the metered voltage and the action of the pendulum.  As the pendulum swings higher one gets a feeling of weightless tension that is finally relieved when the pendulum passes "over the top" to become a full rotation.

Electrified Pendulum has been exhibited at:
2015-16  phaeno museum, Wolfsburg, Germany.
1999       The Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul.