The main goal of the World Pendulum Alliance (WP @ ELAB), a project coordinated by Técnico and co-funded by Erasmus + programme, is to show how does gravity vary with latitude. “This project consists of a constellation of pendulums placed in various latitudes, in several countries, which allow us to understand how does gravity vary with latitude”, says Horácio Fernandes, Técnico professor (Department of Physics) and coordinator of the project.
Nine Latin American universities are part of the project network: Brazil (University of Brasilia, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio De Janeiro), Colombia (Universidad de Los Andes, Universidad Nacional Abierta ya Distancia ), Chile (University of Chile, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María) and Panama (Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá, Universidad Catolica Santa Maria La Antigua). The project also includes European partners: Spain (Universitat Politecnica De Catalunya), France (École Centrale De Marseille) and Czech Republic (Czech Technical University).
Used hundred years ago to measure time, a pendulum also helps us to measure gravity with great precision, allowing to detect local gravity variations, which in turn are essential for oil or mineral extraction. The idea behind the WP @ ELAB project is not new, but this project reaches many more partner institutions. It all started with the creation of ELAB, a remote laboratory that has grown over the years. “Germany and Portugal exchanged pendulums. The idea grew, and we started placing pendulums at different places”, recalls professor Horácio Fernandes, the project coordinator. “I made a very interesting discovery: Portuguese schools in the world are more dynamic than any school”, adds the professor. The first pendulum placed outside Portugal was in Maputo and the second in São Tomé, “at 0º latitude, which is fabulous. Nobody else has a pendulum accessible to everyone at 0º latitude”, says professor Horácio Fernandes.
The WP@ELAB aims to improve the quality of higher and secondary education, in the fields of mathematics and sciences, by deploying a global network of remote experiments.
Each partner university will have its own pendulum and should carry out a series of online experiments to the student community (secondary and higher education). “We place new pendulums, train teachers, help create experiments, etc., so that afterwards, they have their own partners, create their own network and be able to extend the project at regional level”, explains the Técnico professor.
“A very important aspect is that these pendulums in Latin America will serve as incubators for Science dissemination centres”, highlights professor Horácio Fernandes. The use of new learning resources is, therefore, another important stage of this project. “The partner universities must be able to pursue the project goals, points out professor Horácio Fernandes.
An online course – MOOC@Técnico – is also foreseen, aiming to provide basic knowledge and stimulate the interest in experimental physics.
“This MOOC had already started and we are adapting it to Latin American countries”, says professor Horácio Fernandes.
“People have to adapt themselves to these new teaching models and to promote faster learning, because nowadays students assume that they can find everything using Google and we, professors and institutions, have to know how to respond to these new challenges”, says the Técnico professor.
The project coordinated by Técnico will extend until the end of 2021. Professor Horácio Fernandes hopes that, until then, “we can have at least 100 pendulums”, and many more experimental physics enthusiasts.
