Question

A pendulum watch can be used in an artificial satellite.

(a) True

(b) False

I got this question during an internship interview.

My question is taken from Harmonic Motion in section Oscillations of Engineering Physics I

Answer 1

The correct answer is (b) False

To explain: A pendulum watch cannot be used in an artificial satellite. In an artificial satellite, a body is in a state of weightlessness, that is g=0.

T=2π√(l/g)=∞

Inside the satellite, the pendulum does not oscillate. Hence a pendulum watch cannot be used in an artificial satellite.