The Period of a Physical Pendulum calculator computes the period (T) of a physical pendulum based on the mass (m), inertia (I), distance to center of gravity (d) and acceleration due to gravity (g) .

INSTRUCTIONS: Choose the preferred units and enter the following:

• (I) This is the inertia. 
• (m)  This is the mass.
• (d)  This is the distance to the center of gravity.

Period (T): The calculator returns the period in seconds (s).  However, this can be automatically converted to compatible units via the pull-down menu.  Note, this calculator uses the constant acceleration due to gravity at sea level.

The Math / Science

The Period of a Physical Pendulum equation calculates the approximate value for the period of a physical pendulum given that the amplitude is small. It is derived from the equation T='ω/(2π)' where ω='sqrt((m*g*d)/I)' After substituting in ω, we get the equation as shown above.

References

Young, Hugh and Freeman, Roger.  University Physics With Modern Physics.  Addison-Wesley, 2008. 12th Edition, (ISBN-13: 978-0321500625 ISBN-10: 0321500628 ) Pg 438, eq 13.39