Experimental Data Collection for A Sphere on A Forced Oscillating Track

This work involves the experimental setup of an oscillating V-shaped trough upon which a steel sphere is subjected to a back and forth rolling motion. The trough is hinged at the center and actuated by a piston that imparts a force near one end of the track, resulting in upwards-&-downwards motion and causing the metal sphere to roll within the V-shaped trough. The real-time data collected involved the position of the sphere relative to the static equilibrium position (SEP) as a function of time as well as other corresponding data, e.g., the angle of the track. It is hoped that this pilot study can be extended to further both theoretical as well as analytical studies of such a dynamical system.