Does hanging weight on a string get affected by the sun, moon, & earths motion?
There is an influence, but it is difficult to detect. First of all, I’ll point out that Foucault’s pendulum does not relate to this question. So, what is the force? The Earth moves under both the Sun’s and Moon’s gravitational influences, but it’s the centre of mass of the Earth which falls freely through the gravity fields. An object on the surface of the Earth experiences a tidal force because it’s, generally, not at exactly the same distance from the Sun or Moon as is the centre of the Earth. Let’s consider the Sun, the Moon’s case is exactly analogous. If the pendulum is directly between the Sun and the centre of the Earth, it feels its maximum tidal force, 5.1e-7 Newtons per kilogram. Unfortunately, that force is vertical, along the pendulum’s suspension string/rod, and so is unmeasurable by deflection. Well, what if the pendulum were 90 degrees from the Earth-Sun line. Then the force is transverse, and that’s best for measuring the force, but because the pendulum is now basically
