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Cutnell & Johnson, Wiley Publishing, Physics

5th Ed.

Torque (  ) Copywrited by Holt, Rinehart, & Winston

Copywrited by Holt, Rinehart, & Winston

• Torque is the product of a force and the

perpendicular distance from the axis of
rotation to the line of action of the force (aka
the lever arm).
  F l
• when F is not perpendicular to a line from the
axis of rotation
  
  r  F or  Fl sin  
where F can be written as Fsinθ
 Torque (  )
• Units: Newton meter (Nm) Cutnell & Johnson, Wiley Publishing, Physics 5th Ed.

• Positive: Counter Clockwise (ccw) Rotation

Copywrited by Holt, Rinehart, & Winston

• Max Torque when Force is 90° to the line of

action.
Cutnell & Johnson, Wiley Publishing, Physics 5th Ed.
 Torque
• If F = ma, and a = r, then we can write:
2
Fr  mr 
• F·r is the torque exerted on a particle at
radius ‘ r’ We may take the sum of both
sides over i particles to get
2
 i   mi ri 
i i
 Equilibrium
• A rigid body is considered in equilibrium is it has
zero translational acceleration and zero angular
acceleration. OR
2 conditions required for equilibrium

F  0   0 Copyright ©2007 Pearson Prentice Hall, Inc.

If object has forces acting

in both the horizontal and
vertical directions then:

Fx  0 F y  0
 Torque Summation
• In summing torques since the net torque is the
same anywhere on the body, it does not matter
which point of rotation we choose for our
summation of torques
• Best to choose a point that is easiest to solve
(The location of one of our unknown forces)

Copyright ©2007 Pearson Prentice Hall, Inc. Copyright ©2007 Pearson Prentice Hall, Inc.
Diver
A diver weighing 530N is at the
end of a diving board with a
length of 3.90m. The board
has a negligible weight and is
bolted at one end with a
fulcrum supporting it at 1.40 m
from the end. Find the force
of the bolt and the fulcrum on
the board.

Cutnell & Johnson, Wiley Publishing, Physics 5th Ed.

 Moment of Inertia
2
 i  i i
  m r
i i
• Alpha is the same for all particles of the
object and when removed, we get the
MOMENT OF INERTIA. This is a property
of the object just like Inertia (mass).
I   ii
m
i
r 2
or  net  I

Cutnell & Johnson, Wiley Publishing, Physics 5th Ed.

• Different shapes have different

values of I.
 Moment of Inertia
Experiments show that I is directly proportional
• to the mass.
• The distribution of mass in the body.
To illustrate this consider two wheels having
equal mass but different mass distribution.

A B
 Cutnell & Johnson, Wiley Publishing, Physics 5th Ed.
A B

If both of these wheels accelerate from rest to the same angular

velocity ω in the same time t.
• The angular acceleration, α, must be the same for both
wheels. Also, the total angle turned through must be the
same.
• But, when moving with angular velocity ω, the particles of
wheel B are moving faster than the particles of wheel A.
• Therefore, B possesses more kinetic energy than wheel A.
• More work is done accelerating wheel B than wheel A.
• A greater torque was needed to accelerate B than A. and so
the moment of inertia of wheel B is greater than the moment
of inertia of wheel A.
 Moment of Inertia
• The moment of inertia of a body is directly
proportional to its mass and increases as
the mass is moved further from the axis of
rotation.
Cutnell & Johnson, Wiley Publishing, Physics 5th Ed. Cutnell & Johnson, Wiley Publishing, Physics 5th Ed.

• The fact that I depends on mass distribution

means that the same body can have different
moments of inertia depending on which axis
of rotation we consider.
 Moment of Inertia Proof
• A body, of mass, m, is So, K.E. = ½(mr²)ω²
moving with angular • For a point mass,
speed ω moving in a circle of
radius, r, the quantity
mr² is the rotational
equivalent of m.
• I = mr²
• We therefore define the
K.E. = ½mv²
moment of inertia of a
Now, v = rω point mass to be given
by I = mr²
 Moment of Inertia Proof
The moment of inertia of any body can be
found by adding together the moments
of inertia of all its component particles.
I body  mi ri 2
Using this idea gives the following results:

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 Center of Gravity
• Point at which a body’s weight can be
considered to act when calculating the
torque due to weight.
• Xcg=location of the center of gravity

Cutnell & Johnson, Wiley Publishing, Physics 5th Ed.

  Wtot xcg  W1 x1  W2 x2  ...

W1 x1  W2 x 2  ...
xcg 
W1  W2  ...
A synonymous concept is the center of mass and Cutnell & Johnson, Wiley Publishing, Physics 5th Ed.

sometimes these terms are interchanged.

 Center of Gravity
• If an extended object is to be balanced,
it must be supported through its center
of gravity.

Copyright ©2007 Pearson Prentice Hall, Inc.

 Center of Gravity

• The center of gravity can be physically found

by suspending an object by a point and
tracing the vertical axis it hangs along. Hang
the object from a different point and again
tracing its vertical axis. Where these two
lines cross would be the center of gravity.

Copyright ©2007 Pearson Prentice Hall, Inc.

Cutnell & Johnson, Wiley Publishing, Physics 5th Ed. Copywrited by Holt, Rinehart, & Winston
 CG of an Arm
• Calculate the center of gravity of the
following arm.
• W1=17 N
• W2=11 N
• W3=4.2 N

Cutnell & Johnson, Wiley Publishing, Physics 5th Ed.

 Comparing Linear and
Rotational Dynamics
We can derive new equations Linear Angular (rotational)
by simply substituting quantity quantity
rotational quantities for 
linear quantities. d
For example: vo 1
Power is the time-rate of doing vf 2
work.
dW d
P     a 
dt dt
F T (Torque)
• p = mv gives us L = Iω m I (Moment of Inertia)

p L
What is the last quantity
derived called? Angular momentum
 Angular Momementum
(L)
• equivalent to linear momentum
L = Iω
• A "principle of conservation of angular
momentum" also exists.
 Conservation of Angular

Cutnell & Johnson, Wiley Publishing, Physics 5th Ed.

Momentum
• With arms and leg outstretched (A), the
moment of inertia, Iinitial, is relatively large.
• Suppose the skater has a low initial
angular velocity ωinitial.
• The skater then gradually decreases her/his moment of inertia by
bringing arms and leg nearer to the axis of rotation (B and C).
• Her/his angular velocity is observed to increase.
• This is easily explained if we consider that the person’s angular
momentum does not change.

• If Iinitial > Ifinal then ωfinal > ωinitial

Iinitial × initial = Ifinal × final
Conservation of Angular
Momentum
Conservation of Angular
Momentum
• The total angular • The angular
momentum of a momentum, L of a point
system remains mass is given by L = Iω
constant as long as and the moment of
no external torque inertia of a point mass
acts on the system. is I = mr²
• so, we have L = (mr²)ω
• and, as v = rω we can
write L = (mv)r
 Angular Momentum
L = pr
• linear momentum multiplied by its
distance from the point considered
• Notice that we can therefore calculate
the angular momentum of a body about
any point even if the body is not moving
in a circular path.
 A High Diver
• A diver can change
his/her rate of rotation
in a similar way. The
diver starts out with low
angular velocity with
body straight and arms
outstretched. The
distribution of mass is
then changed in order
to vary the angular
velocity.
 Cat
• Cats use the principle of
conservation of angular
momentum in order to
rotate themselves "in
mid-air". A cat will
always land on its feet,
if given enough (but not
too much!) height.
Comparing Linear and Rotational Dynamics

Copywrited by Holt, Rinehart, & Winston

Copywrited by Holt, Rinehart, & Winston

 Rotational Kinetic
Energy

Cutnell & Johnson, Wiley Publishing, Physics 5th Ed.

• An Object can experience
Translational (linear) motion and/or
Rotational motion. Both motions
have related kinetic energies.
• Translational kinetic energy is ½ mv2
• The Rotational Kinetic energy is
based upon Translation KE:

KE  1
2 mv 2
 1
2 m (r  ) 
2 1
2 I 2
 Riddle of the Sphinx

Beside you are two balls. One is hollow,

the other is solid. Tell me which is which.
• The balls are of equal weight.
– The hollow ball is weighted inside with
metal, so they are both exactly the same
weight.
• A plank of wood may be used.
How will you avoid being the Sphinx’s
lunch?