Purpose To demonstrate the complicated dynamics of a magnetic pendulum suspended over at least three magnets; to illustrate the fractal nature of the boundary of the basins of attraction of these magnets.
Materials Overhead projector, seven disc-shaped magnets, overhead transparency, three different color overhead pens, and either string, tape or a suction cup, or a straight pin, button, glue, two balsa wood rods, a thumb tack, a fishing swivel, and a carpenter's clamp.
Conclusion Even though eventually the pendulum will come to rest over one of the stationary magnets, the path it takes can be quite complicated and in some regions, tiny changes in the starting position can alter over which stationary magnet the pendulum eventually comes to rest.