Rotation of Rigid Bodies

Concepts: Rigid bodies

Translation vs. rotation
Center of mass
Moment of inertia
Torque

Chapter 13: 13.1-13.6

 Point Masses
• Point masses moving in straight lines

• Point masses moving in circles

• What happens if an object is not a point?

– Then it can rotate!
Types of Motion
 “Rigid Body” Rotation
• We cannot model rotating objects as
points because points can’t rotate
• The next simplest approximation is to
model rigidly rotating bodies
• A rigid body does not change its size or
shape as it moves
 Rotational Motion
• Axis of rotation
– An imaginary line around which
an object rotates.
• In 3D, the axis of rotation is a
line
• In 2D, the axis of rotation is a
point
Every point on a
rigidly rotating
body rotates with
the same
angular speed
• All points on a rotating rigid body:
– turn through the same θ in the same time
– (and therefore) have the same ω
– have the same α
• Points at different distances from the axis
of rotation of a rigid body:
– move through different distances, x, in the
same time
– have different tangential speeds, vt
– have different accelerations, a
Sign Conventions
 Center of Mass
• An unconstrained object (not on an axle or
pivot) will rotate about its centre of mass
• Examples:
– Frisbee
– astronaut in space
– diver doing a spinning dive
• The centre of mass tells us how the mass
of an object is distributed
• For a two-dimensional object:

m1 x1 + m 2 x 2 + ...
x CM =
m1 + m 2 + ...
m1 y1 + m 2 y 2 + ...
y CM =
m1 + m 2 + ...
• Translational motion is motion of the center of
mass
• Rotational motion is motion around the center
of mass, or some other axis (if an axle or pivot is
used)

An off center
d
rotation axis

Axis about center

of mass
 What Causes Rotation?
• Newton’s 2nd law tells us that, to produce a
translational acceleration, we need a force
• What do we need to produce an angular
acceleration?
• Think about how “effective” a given force
is in inducing rotation…
 Quick Quiz 15

A
C E
B
D
Each of these force vectors has the same
magnitude. Which will be most effective at
causing the door to swing closed?
 F
Φ
r

• The “effectiveness” of a force in inducing rotation

depends on:
– The strength of the force, F
– the distance from the axis of rotation at which it is
exerted, r
– the angle, φ, at which it is exerted measured from the
axis connecting the point of application to the pivot
 We quantify how effective a force is in
creating rotation by using the quantity
called

torque
• Torque plays the same role in rotational
motion that force plays in translational
motion
 F

Black Dot: Pivot point (CM or axle)

Red Dot: Point of application of Force
 A rm
ent
m
Mo

Black Dot: Pivot point (CM or axle)

Red Dot: Point of application of Force
 F

c osΦ
r F

the component of a force acting along

moment arm won’t make the object rotate
 F
FsinΦ
Φ

the component of a force acting

perpendicular to the moment arm will make
the object rotate
 FsinΦ

Torque is the product of the length of the

moment arm and the component of the
force perpendicular to that line
 F
Φ
Pivot point r τ = r F sin φ
[ Nm ]
Application point

• Here:
– F is the applied force
– r is the length of the moment arm
– Φ is the angle between r and F

• Torque is always defined relative to a specific pivot

(or “axis of rotation”)
 Torque as a Vector
• Most generally, torque is defined
v as the
r
vector cross product of r and F :
r r r
τ =r×F [ Nm ]

• So torque is a vector (like force!)

• A torque can change the rotational motion either
by making it rotate faster or by slowing it down
 The Direction of Torque
• To find the direction of Torque, use the Right
Hand Rule
Example r
F
r
r

Pivot Point r
F
r
r
Place vectors tail to tail
Use Right Hand
r
F
r
r
r r
Sweep fingers from r to F .

Thumb points in direction of Torque vector

Use Right Hand
r
F
r
r

Drawn as a circle with a dot in the middle

(an arrowhead seen head-on)

Which in this case points outward

Use Right Hand
r
r

X r
F

Drawn as a circle with an ‘x’ in the middle

(an arrow tail seen from behind)
 Quick Quiz 16
What is the direction of the torque
produced by this force?
A. Out of screen
B. Towards floor
C. Not well-defined
D. Into screen
E. To the right

Assume the pivot point is in the centre of the wheel.

 Quick Quiz 17
What is the direction of the torque
produced by this force?
A. Out of screen
B. Not well-defined
C. Towards ceiling
D. Into screen
E. To the right

Assume the pivot point is in the centre of the wheel.

 Quick Quiz 18
What is the direction of the torque
produced by this force?
A. Out of screen
B. Towards floor
C. Towards ceiling
D. Into screen
E. Not well-defined

Assume the pivot point is in the centre of the wheel.

 Adding Torques
• The net torque acting on a system is the
vector sum of all of the torques acting on
the system: F 1
F2

F3

F4
r r r r r
τ net = ∑τ i = τ 1 + τ 2 + τ 3 + ...
 Examples
F
F’

φ>0 φ>0 φ>0

φ>0
F F F’
F’
Fnet=0 Fnet≠0 Fnet=0
τnet>0 τnet=0 τnet<0

If we define positive torque as pointing out of the screen

Torque and Angular Acceleration
• How are torque and angular acceleration related?
• Consider a point mass, m, rotating around in a circle of
radius r: r r
r ∑ F = ma
Ft Ft = m at
Ft = m rα
r r Ft = m r α
2

τ = (m r 2 ) α

∴ torque causes angular acceleration!

 Dynamics of Rotation
• You can describe any object as a large
group of point masses, mi:
For a each point mass:

τ = (m r ) α 2

Add up the torques on all of the particles:

r r v
τ net = ∑τ i = ∑ mi ri α i
2

i i
Rigid Body Acceleration

But all of the mi are part of the same

body, so they share the same angular
acceleration

r ⎛ 2⎞r
τ net = ⎜ ∑ mi ri ⎟α
⎝ i ⎠
 Moment of Inertia
• We define the moment of inertia for a
body as:

I = ∑ mi ri
2
[ kgm2 ]
i

• The moment of inertia tells us how a

body’s mass is distributed
 Moment of Inertia

r ⎛ 2⎞r r
τ net = ⎜ ∑ mi ri ⎟α = Iα
⎝ i ⎠

Moment of inertia describes an object’s

reluctance to rotate
Rotational Newton’s Second Law
• The rotational version of Newton’s 2nd law
then becomes simply:
r r
Στ = Iα
• Which looks a whole lot like the usual form
of Newton’s 2nd law:
r r
ΣF = ma
 Quick Quiz 19
Which of these configurations produces the
largest angular acceleration? Assume each
system pivots about its centre of mass.

A C

B D
 Translational vs. Rotational
• mass, m • moment of inertia, I
• acceleration, a • angular acceleration, α
• force, F • torque, τ
• Newton’s 2nd Law: • Newton’s 2nd Law:
r r r r
Fnet = ma τ net = Iα

A non-zero net force A non-zero net torque

produces translational produces angular
acceleration acceleration
 Quick Quiz 20
A hockey stick is laying on very smooth,
slippery ice. You kick the stick at its centre
of mass. The stick

A. rotates
B. translates
C. rotates and translates
 Quick Quiz 21
A hockey stick is laying on very smooth,
slippery ice. You kick the end of the stick.
The stick

A. rotates
B. translates
C. rotates and translates
 Static Equilibrium
• Translational equilibrium:
Fnet = ∑ F = 0

• Rotational equilibrium:
τ net = ∑τ = 0
• Therefore, a rigid body is in equilibrium if
both: r r
Fnet = 0 and τ net = 0
Example A Basic Example of Static Equilibrium

Log (1500 N weight)

Length = 2.0m
On supports A & B A B
What forces do A and B exert?
Suppose they are 25 cm and 5 cm from the ends.
 FA FB
1.0m to CM

0.25m 0.05m
W = 1500 N

ΣF = FA + FB−W = 0
r Torque about
Στ = 0 which axis?
Which axis should we use when there is no rotation?

• Left end

• Centre of Mass

• Right End
 The choice of pivot
point doesn’t matter

• For an object in static equilibrium, any

choice of rotation axis gives the same
result

• So choose one that makes your life easy

 FA FB
1.0m to CM

0.25m 0.05m
W = 1500 N

r
Around FA: Στ = 0
(FA )(rA ) - (W)(rW ) + (FB )(rB ) = 0
(FA )(0) - (1500)(0.75) + (FB )(1.7) = 0
(1500)(0.75)
FB = = 661 N
1.7
 FA FB
1.0m to CM

0.25m 0.05m
W = 1500 N

Forces: ΣF = FA+ FB−W = 0

FA =W − FB = 1500 - 661 = 839N

 Quick Quiz 22
If the left support is
moved a little further
to the right, the force
it exerts on the log

A. increases.
B. decreases.
C. stays the same.
 Calculating Moments of Inertia
1. For a collection of point masses in two
dimensions, simply sum up the miri2
terms: m2
m3
r2
m1 r3
r1
r4 m4
r5
m5
I = ∑ (m i ri ) = m1r1 + m2 r2 + m3r3 + m4 r4 + m5 r5
2 2 2 2 2 2

i
2. For a continuous mass distribution:
• break it up into many small units of mass,
Δm and sum the Δmri2 terms:

Δm

Pivot point
r2 r3 Δm
r1 Δ m

I = ∑ (Δ m ri ) → 2
I = ∫ r dm
2
Δm → 0
i
• A thin rod, rotated about one end:
1
I = ML2

3
• A thin rod, rotated about its centre:
1
I = ML2 Lower than when rotating
12 the rod around the end
because, in this case,
more mass is close to the
axis of rotation
• A cylindrical hoop, rotated about its centre:

I = MR 2 Because every particle

dm lies at the same
distance R from the axis
of rotation
• A solid sphere, rotating around an axis
passing through its centre:
2
I = MR 2

5
 Quick Quiz 23
Two spinning tops have equal radius and mass, but
whereas top B is a thin disc, top A has light spokes
connecting the hub to an outer ring. The tops are
spun by applying equal torques to the spindle. Which
spins the fastest?

Top View
a) A
b) B
c) spin at same rate
d) not enough info.
A B
Quick Quiz 24
Two spinning tops are made from uniform circular
disks with a pointed spindle inserted through the
center. The tops have the same radii and total
mass, but since they are made of different material,
top A is thicker. The tops are launched by equal
torques to the spindles. Which spins the fastest?
A B
a) A
b) B
c) spin at the same rate
d) not enough info
 Adding Moments of Inertia
• Moments of inertia are scalar quantities,
so they can be added easily:

I tot = ∑ I i
i

• You can easily build up moments of inertia

for objects with complicated shapes by
summing the moments for the component
shapes
 Example: I of a Hammer M

• What is the moment of inertia L

of the hammer rotated about
its end?
m

– Let’s treat the head as a point mass.

I = (1 3) m L + 2
ML 2
14243 123
Moment of inertia Moment of inertia
of the handle of the head
 Parallel Axis Theorem
• Let’s say you know the moment of inertia
of an object rotating about an axis passing
through the center of mass
• What if you want to know the moment of
inertia of that same object if it were
rotating about a different axis?
• If the two axes are parallel, it’s easy to
calculate the new moment
 • Parallel axis theorem:
An off center
d

I = I CM + Md
rotation axis
2

Axis about center

of mass
moment of moment of M=mass of
inertia inertia object
about the about an d=perpendicular
parallel axis distance
axis passing between the
through two axes
the center
of mass
 d

Parallel axis Parallel axis

theorem theorem DOES
applies NOT apply
(axes are not
parallel!)
 Quick Quiz 25a
a
The moment of inertia L

of the hammer head

about its CM is given by M
ICM = 0.1 M a2.

If L = 10 a, how much smaller is

ICM than Ipoint mass about pivot?

A) 1000 times B) 100 times C) 10 times

D) same order of magnitude
 Quick Quiz 25b
1 2 3 4

Four T’s are made from eight identical rods of equal mass
and length. If the T’s are rotated about the dotted lines, rank
their moments of inertia from smallest to largest.

A. 3, 2, 1, 4
B. 2, 3, 1 ,4
C. 3, 2, 4, 1
D. 2, 3, 4, 1
Example: Pulleys with Mass
Two blocks A (mA = 12 kg) and
B (mB = 30 kg) are connected by
a string that passes over a
pulley with radius R = 15 cm.
The pulley is a uniform disk
whose mass is 10 kg.

Find the linear and angular

accelerations of the pulley.
 N
α

TA TB
a
a
Mg

TA TB

mAg
mBg
• For mass A:

TA
ΣFA = m A a
a
TA − m A g = m A a
TA = m A ( a + g )
mAg
• For mass B:

TB
ΣFB = mB aB
mB g − TB = mB a a

TB = mB ( g − a)

mBg
• Now find the torque on the pulley:
N α
r r
Στ = Iα R

TA TB

Mg
TB = mB ( g − a ) TA = m A ( a + g )

τ = TB R − TA R + ( Mg )(0) + ( N )(0)
Iα = mB ( g − a) R − m A (a + g ) R
 N

TA TB

Mg
But I=0.5MR2 for this pulley so:

(0.5MR 2 )α = mB ( g − a ) R − m A (a + g ) R

mB ( g − a ) R − m A ( a + g ) R
α= 2
0.5MR
 a
and α = :
R

a mB ( g − a ) R − m A ( a + g ) R
= 2
R 0.5MR

mB ( g − a ) R 2 − m A ( a + g ) R 2
a=
0.5MR 2

mB ( g − a ) − m A ( a + g )
a=
0.5M
Rearrange and solve for a:

0.5Ma = mB g − mB a − m A a + m A g
( mB − m A ) g
a=
(0.5M + m A + mB )

a = 3.75m/s 2

• The angular acceleration of the pulley is then:

α = a / R = (3.75m/s 2 ) /(0.15m) = 25rad/s 2
 Quick Quiz 26
In the previous example, if the radius of the pulley is
increased by a factor of two (but its mass and shape
remain unchanged), the acceleration of the system

A. increases
B. decreases
C. stays the same