Systems of Particles and Rotational Motion
Systems of Particles and Rotational Motion
Systems of Particles and Rotational Motion
RIGID BODY
• Rigid body is a body with a perfectly definite and unchanging shape. The
distances between all pairs of particles of such a body do not change.
• No real body is truly rigid, since
real bodies deform under the
influence of forces.
CENTRE OF MASS
• Imaginary point where the whole mass of system can be assumed to be
concentrated
• The centre of mass of two bodies lies in a straight line.
(Here m1 & m2 are two bodies such that m1 is at a distance x1 from O, &
m2 at a distance x2 from O.)
VECTOR PRODUCT
• If the total external torque on a system of particles is zero, then the total
angular momentum of the system is conserved
• If texternal = 0, then dL/dt = 0 => L = constant
MOMENT OF INERTIA
Term(symbol) Meaning
Resistance to change in rotational velocity
around an axis of rotation. Proportional to
the mass and affected by the distribution of
mass. Also called the moment of inertia.
Rotational inertia (II) Scalar quantity with SI units of kg⋅m2.
Rotational inertia depends both on an object’s mass and how the mass is
distributed relative to the axis of rotation. When a mass moves further from
the axis of rotation it becomes more difficult to change the rotational velocity
of the system. For e.g. if we compare the rotational inertia for a hoop and a
disc, both with the same mass and radius, the hoop will have a higher
rotational inertia because the mass is distributed farther away from the axis of
rotation.
For example, if we attach a rotating disc to a massless rope and then pull on
the rope with constant force, we can see that the angular acceleration of the
cylinder will increase as the force (and the torque) increases. A graph of the
angular acceleration vs. torque would have a positive and constant slope
because angular acceleration α is directly proportional to torque.
Fnet τnet = ma = Iα
COMMON MISTAKES AND MISCONCEPTIONS
1. People sometimes forget that angular acceleration can be zero. If the torques
on an object cancel out, the net torque is zero and the angular acceleration is
also zero. For example, a beam that can rotate about its axis has two forces
exerted on it and therefore two torques. Since the torques are in opposite
directions, the net torque is zero and the beam will not rotate.
A birds-eye view of a horizontal beam parallel to the ground that can rotate about its
central axis, with two forces exerted on it.
2. Another common misconception is that the torques only sum to zero about
the fulcrum. For an object in equilibrium, the torques sum to zero about any
axis.
ROLLING MOTION
• Here in the figure we can see that every point have two velocities, one in
the direction of velocity of COM and other perpendicular to the line joining
centre and the point.
• Point Po have opposite velocities, and if condition of no-slipping is there
then it must have zero velocity, so Vcom = ω R
• At point P1 both the velocities add up.
• At any other point, add both the velocities vectorially to get the resultant,
which are shown for some of the cases in red colour in figure.
• The line passing through PO and parallel to w is called the instantaneous
axis of rotation.
• The point PO is instantaneously at rest.
• Kinetic Energy of Rolling Motion
• KErolling = KEtranslation + KErotation