Two-Dimensional Rotational

Dynamics

8.01
W09D2

Young and Freedman: 1.10 (Vector Product), 10.1-10.2,

10.4, 11.1-11.3;
 Announcements

Next Reading Assignment

Young and Freedman: 1.10 (Vector Product) 10.1-

10.2, 10.5-10.6 ; 11.1-11.3
 Rigid Bodies
Rigid body: An extended object in which the
distance between any two points in the object is
constant in time. Examples: sphere, disk

Effect of external forces (the solid arrows

represent forces):

Translate Rotate Both translate

and rotate
Main Idea: Fixed Axis Rotation of
Rigid Body
Torque produces angular acceleration about center
of mass

cm
total
Icm cm

Icm is the moment of inertial about the center of mass

cm is the angular acceleration about center of mass

 Recall: Fixed Axis Rotation
Kinematics
Angle variable

Angular velocity r
z k (d / dt)k
Angular acceleration r
zk (d 2 / dt 2 )k
Mass element
mi
Radius of orbit
r ,i
i N
I S mi (r,i )2
Moment of inertia
i1
dm(r )2
body
Parallel Axis Theorem
I S Md 2 I cm
 Torque as a Vector
Force FP exerted at a point P on a rigid body.
Vector rS ,P from a point S to the point P.

Torque about point S due to the force exerted at point P:

S rS ,P FP
 Summary: Cross Product
Magnitude: equal to the area of the parallelogram defined by
the two vectors

r r r r r r r r
A B A B sin A B sin A sin B (0 )

Direction: determined by
the Right-Hand-Rule
 Torque: Magnitude and Direction
Magnitude of torque about a point S due to force
acting at point P
S rF rF sin
r
where F is the magnitude of the force FP .

Direction ofr torque:r Perpendicular to the plane

formedFPby rSand ,P
.Determined by the
Right-Hand-rule.
Properties of Cross Products

A B B A
c( A B) A cB cA B
( A B) C A C B C
Cross Product of Unit Vectors

Unit vectors in Cartesian coordinates

i j | i || j | sin 2 1

i i | i || j | sin(0) 0

i j k
i i 0
j k
i j j 0
i j k
k k 0
 Components of Cross
Product

A Axi Ayj Az k
, B B i B j B k
x y z

A B ( Ay Bz Az By )i ( Az Bx Ax Bz )j ( Ax By Ay Bx )k
i j k
Ax Ay Az
Bx By Bz
 Concept Question: Torque
r r
Consider two vectors r xi with x > 0 and F F i F k

r r x z
with Fx > 0 and Fz > 0 . The cross product r F
points in the

1) + x-direction
2) -x-direction
3) +y-direction
4) -y-direction
5) +z-direction
6) -z-direction
7) None of the above directions
 Concept Question: Magnitude of
Torque
In the figure, a force of magnitude F is applied
to one end of a lever of length L. What is the
magnitude of the torque about the point S?

1.FL sin
2.FL cos
3.FL tan
4.None of the above
 Torque due to Uniform
Gravitational Force
The total torque on a rigid body due to the
gravitational force can be determined by placing
all the gravitational force at the center-of-mass
of the object.
N N N
S,grav rS ,i Fgrav,i rS ,i mi g mi rS ,i g
i 1 i 1 i 1

1 N

totat
m

i 1
mi S ,i
r

m totat
g

RS,cm m totat g
Fixed Axis Rotational
Dynamics
 Recall: Rotational Kinematics

Individual element of mass mi

Radius of orbit r ,i

Tangential velocity vtan,i r,i

Tangential acceleration atan,i r,i

2
vtan,i
Radial Acceleration arad,i r,i 2
r,i
Dynamics: Newtons Second Law
and Torque about S
Tangential force on mass element
produces torque

Newtons Second Law

F F m a
tan,i tan,i i tan,i
Ftan,i mi r,i
Torque about S
S ,i r,i Ftan,i
z-component of torque about S

( z,S )i r ,i Ftan,i mi (r,i )2

 Torque, Moment of Inertia and
Angular Acceleration
Component of the total torque about an
axis passing through S is the sum over
all elements
i N i N
z,S
total
( z,S )1 ( z,S )2 ( z,S )i mi (r,i )2 z
i1 i1

Recall: Moment of Inertia about and

axis passing through S :
i N
I S mi (r,i )2
i1

Summary: z,S
total
I S z
 Concept Question: Chrome
Inertial Wheel
A fixed torque is applied to
the shaft of the chrome
inertial wheel. If the four
weights on the arms are slid
out, the component of the
angular acceleration along
the shaft direction will

1) increase.

2) decrease.

3) remain the same.

 Worked Example:
Moment of Inertia Wheel

An object of mass m is attached

to a string which is wound around
a disc of radius Rd. The object is
released and takes a time t to fall
a distance s. What is the moment
of inertia of the disc?
Analysis: Measuring Moment of
Inertia

Free body force diagrams and

force equations:
F T mp g 0
mg T ma
Rotational equation: RdT I cm

Constraint: a Rd
g
Solve for moment of inertia: I cm mRd ( 1)
2

a
2
2s 2 gt
Time to travel distance s: a 2 I cm mRd ( 1)
t 2s
 Demo: Moment of Inertia Wheel
Measuring the moment of inertia.

Radius of disc: Rd 0.50 m

Mass of disc: md 5.223 kg

Mass of weight holder: m 0.150 kg

1
Theoretical result: I cm md Rd 2
2
 Problem Solving Strategy:
Two Dimensional Rotation
Step 1: Draw free body force diagrams for each object and indicate the
point of application of each force

Step 2: Select point to compute torque about (generally select center of

mass)

Step 3: Choose coordinate system. Indicate positive direction for increasing

rotational angle.

Step 4: Apply Newtons Second Law and Torque Law to obtain equations

Step 5: Look for constraint condition between rotational acceleration and

any linear accelerations.

Step 6: Design algebraic strategy to find quantities of interest

Rotor Moment of Inertia
 Table Problem: Moment of Inertia
Wheel
A steel washer is mounted on a cylindrical
rotor . The inner radius of the washer is R.
A massless string, with an object of mass m
attached to the other end, is wrapped
around the side of the rotor and passes
over a massless pulley. Assume that there
is a constant frictional torque about the axis
of the rotor. The object is released and falls.
We choose coordinates such that as the
mass falls, the rotor undergoes an angular
acceleration with a positive component 1 >
0. After the string detaches from the rotor,
the rotor coasts to a stop with a component
of angular acceleration 2 < 0. Let g denote
the gravitational constant.

What is the moment of inertia of the rotor

assembly (including the washer) about the
rotation axis?
Torque and Static Equilibrium
 Conditions for Static Equilibrium
(1) Translational equilibrium: the sum of the forces
acting on the rigid body is zero.

Ftotal F1 F2 ... 0

(2) Rotational Equilibrium: the vector sum of the

torques about any point S in a rigid body is zero.

total
S S ,1 S ,2 ... 0
 Concept Question: Tipping
A box, with its center-of-
mass off-center as
indicated by the dot, is
placed on an inclined
plane. In which of the four
orientations shown, if any,
does the box tip over?
Problem Solving Strategy: Static
Equilibrium
Force:
1. Identify System and draw all forces and where they act on Free Body
Force Diagram

2. Write down equations for static equilibrium of the forces: sum of forces
is zero

Torque:
1. Choose point to analyze the torque about.

2. Choose sign convention for torque

3. Calculate torque about that point for each force. (Note sign of torque.)

4. Write down equation corresponding to condition for static equilibrium:

sum of torques is zero
 Table Problem: Standing on a
Hill
A person is standing on a hill that is sloped at an
angle with respect to the horizontal. The persons
legs are separated by a distance d, with one foot
uphill and one downhill. The center of mass of the
person is at a distance h above the ground,
perpendicular to the hillside, midway between the
persons feet. Assume that the coefficient of static
friction between the persons feet and the hill is
sufficiently large that the person will not slip.

a) What is the magnitude of the normal force on

each foot?

b) How far must the feet be apart so that the

normal force on the upper foot is just zero? (This is
the instant when the person starts to rotate and fall
over.)
 Rotational Work

Tangential force
Ftan,i Ftan,i

Displacement vector

rS ,i r,i

work for a small displacement

Wi Ftan,i rS ,i Ftan,i r,i r,i Ftan,i
 Rotational Work
Newtons Second Law
Ftan,i mi atan,i
Tangential acceleration atan,i r,i

Work for small displacement Wi mi r ,i 2

Summation becomes integration for continuous body

2

W mi r ,i dm(rS , ) I S
2

i body
 Rotational Work

Rotational work for a small displacement W I S

Torque about S S IS

Infinitesimal rotational work W S

f f

Integrate total work W dW S d

0 0
 Rotational Work-Kinetic
Energy Theorem
Infinitesimal rotational work

d d
dWrot I S d I S d I S d I S d
dt dt
Integrate rotational work
f f
1 1
Wrot dWrot I S d I S f I S 02
2

0 0
2 2

Kinetic energy of rotation about S

1 1
Wrot I S f I S 02 K rot, f K rot ,0 K rot
2

2 2
 Rotational Power
Rotational power is the time rate of doing
rotational work
dWrot
Prot
dt
Product of the applied torque with the
angular velocity

dWrot d
Prot S S
dt dt
 Table Problem: Change in
Rotational Energy and Work

Suppose that a rotor of moment of

inertia Ir is slowing down during the
interval [t1, t2] according to
(t)= (t1)- t,
where = (t1)/t2 . Use work energy
techniques to find the frictional
torque acting on the rotor.