An entertaining resonance experiment with just two spring scales

Abstract

Resonance is a topic included in most introductory physics courses. Any mechanical system experiences resonance if it is driven by a periodic force with a frequency that matches its natural frequency. There are plenty of simple demonstrations of the resonance phenomena of mechanical systems which can be set up using readily available items . This work presents a very simple approach to demonstrate the phenomena using just two spring scales. The experiment presented here performs a "frequency sweep" and is also very entertaining to watch.