Early in his career, he researched the characteristics of their motion. After investigating their behavior, he was able to use them as time measurement devices in later experiments. Pendulums are mentioned in both Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems and his Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences . In these two works, Galileo discusses some of the major points he discovered about pendulums. Follow the links to jump to an experimental evaluation of the claim.
Pendulums nearly return to their release heights.
All pendulums eventually come to rest with the lighter ones coming to rest faster. The period is independent of the bob weight. The period is independent of the amplitude. The square of the period varies directly with the length. Galileo also performed experiments to examine the nature of collisions in which he used pendulums, but these experiments appear to have provided less insight and to have been less conclusive than the other experiments.