Using a Rotating Column of Liquid on a Recycled Record Player to Measure the Acceleration of Gravity

An experimental method that uses a cylindrical column of liquid that rests on the rotating turntable of a recycled record player to measure the acceleration of gravity is presented in this article. It relies on the established fact that the free surface of a rotating column of liquid takes the shape of a paraboloid of revolution that can be determined uniquely using the original height, radius and speed of rotation of the column, and the local acceleration of gravity. The method consists of measuring the coordinates of the free surface of a spinning liquid and the rate of rotation of the column, and relating them analytically to the local acceleration of gravity