Demonstrating the connection between uniform circular motion and simple harmonic motion with a 3D-printed model

Abstract

The simple harmonic motion (SHM) is the simplest type of oscillatory motion. It is a key topic in most High School Physics curriculum with a rather demanding mathematical background for the students. A quite common approach for a better understanding of the motion is to visualize SHM as a projection of a uniform circular motion onto one axis. In this paper, we propose an experimental layout, which uses a specially designed object executing a uniform circular motion, in order to demonstrate the relationship between the changes in value and orientation of both the velocity and the acceleration vectors of its shadow that performs SHM. This idea was originally introduced in the second quarter of the 20th century and nowadays we combine it with the modern possibilities offered by 3D printing technology.