Abstract: In the Foucault pendulum experiment,a heavier pendulum and a longer cycloid are used to ensure that the spin of its swing plane can be watched,because the period of the spin of the swing plane caused by the Coriolis force is far more than the swing period of the pendulum.In the laboratory,a magnetic field can be introduced to give the charged pendulum a Lorentz force which can cause the spin of the swing plane.The period of the spin of the swing plane caused by the Lorentz force is not far more than the swing period of the pendulum.Therefore,a short charged pendulum can be used to simulate the movement of the Foucault pendulum for a short time in the laboratory.The paper begins with theoretical analysis,then,uses MATLAB to simulate the movement of the charged pendulum to account for why it is possible to use the movement of a short charged pendulum in a magnetic field to simulate the Foucault pendulum.

Key words: charged pendulum, simulate, Foucault pendulum, theoretical analysis, MATLAB