Hello,

For a cognitive science research project, I need to come up with a
reasonably physically accurate simulation of a simple pendulum that can
be driven by an air fan on the left side (which will push the bob with
constant force to the right, and the fan is assumed to push on the bob
when it is both above and below the pivot). I'm currently working with
the code from http://www.myphysicslab.com. I originally thought of
using the driving parameter, and switching it from positive to negative
depending on angle (which side of the pivot the bob is). But I don't
know enough physics to know if this would be accurate enough to look
right (would the driving force change as the pendulum swings), let
alone if there is a simpler computation way to do it (rather than
checking the angle every iteration and flipping the driving parameter).

Hello,

For a cognitive science research project, I need to come up with a
reasonably physically accurate simulation of a simple pendulum that can
be driven by an air fan on the left side (which will push the bob with
constant force to the right, and the fan is assumed to push on the bob
when it is both above and below the pivot). I'm currently working with
the code from http://www.myphysicslab.com. I originally thought of
using the driving parameter, and switching it from positive to negative
depending on angle (which side of the pivot the bob is). But I don't
know enough physics to know if this would be accurate enough to look
right (would the driving force change as the pendulum swings), let
alone if there is a simpler computation way to do it (rather than
checking the angle every iteration and flipping the driving parameter).

Thanks,
Jim Witte
Indiana University