The Wave Swinger ride gives a beautiful illustration of the
equivalence principle: Note how empty and loaded swings hang in the same
angle
relative to the vertical, and recall
Eötvös' classical experiment, using
the earth as a giant wave swinger.
The idea for the wave swinger ride originates from Franz Schwarzkopf, (brother to Anton Schwarzkopf), who worked for Zierer at the time. In 1972 Ingenieurbüro Stengel took part in the construction and performed calculations for its kinetics, kinematics, statics and durability. About 170 Wave Swingers have been built by Zierer. The wave swinger on the cover photo is located at Liseberg, Göteborg, Sweden.
Exercise: The chain length is about 4.3 m. Use this information to estimate the the time of rotation. (Read more about physics in the wave swinger in Physics Education Nov 2002, p 507-511.)