CHARACTERIZATION OF MECHANICAL DISSIPATION SPECTRAL BEHAVIOR USING A GRAVITOMAGNETIC PENDULUM

Abstract We have developed an experimental method based on the reaction of a magnetic mass with respect to a dc biased coil to change the frequency of a pendulum. In a preliminary experiment this method has allowed us to investigate the mechanical dissipation of nylon pendulum wires over the 0.1-1.4 Hz frequency range. According to the procedure shown in this paper, it is possible to deduce from the measurements whether the dissipation process is viscous or not. The method is generally applicable and adaptable to be used to characterise the behaviour of the suspension systems developed for gravitational waves detectors.