In this chapter we will study the rotational motion of rigid bodies about a fixed axis. To describe this type of motion we will introduce the following new concepts | Chapter 10 Rotation In this chapter we will study the rotational motion of rigid bodies about a fixed axis. To describe this type of motion we will introduce the following new concepts: -Angular displacement -Average and instantaneous angular velocity (symbol: ω ) -Average and instantaneous angular acceleration (symbol: α ) -Rotational inertia also known as moment of inertia (symbol I ) -Torque (symbol τ ) We will also calculate the kinetic energy associated with rotation, write Newton’s second law for rotational motion, and introduce the work-kinetic energy for rotational motion (10-1) The Rotational Variables In this chapter we will study the rotational motion of rigid bodies about fixed axes. A rigid body is defined as one that can rotate with all its parts locked together and without any change of its shape. A fixed axis means that the object rotates about an axis that does not move. We can describe the motion of a rigid body rotating about a fixed axis by specifying just one parameter. Consider the rigid body of the figure. We take the the z-axis to be the fixed axis of rotation. We define a reference line which is fixed in the rigid body and is perpendicular to the rotational axis. A top view is shown in the lower picture. The angular position of the reference line at any time t is defined by the angle θ(t) that the reference lines makes with the position at t = 0. The angle θ(t) also defines the position of all the points on the rigid body because all the points are locked as they rotate. The angle θ is related to the arc length s traveled by a point at a distance r from the axis via the equation: Note: The angle θ is measured in radians (10-2) (10-3) t1 t2 (10-4) ω1 ω2 t1 t2 (10-5) (10-6) A θ s O (10-7) r O (10-8) O ri mi (10-9) In the table below we list the rotational inertias for some rigid bodies (10-10) (10-11) A (10-12) (10-13) (10-14) O 1 2 3 i ri (10-15) (10-16) (10-17) | Chapter 10 Rotation In this chapter we will study the rotational motion of rigid bodies about a fixed axis. To describe this type of motion we will introduce the following new concepts: -Angular displacement -Average and instantaneous angular velocity (symbol: ω ) -Average and instantaneous angular acceleration (symbol: α ) -Rotational inertia also known as moment of inertia (symbol I ) -Torque (symbol τ ) We will also calculate the kinetic energy associated with rotation, write Newton’s second law for rotational motion, and introduce the work-kinetic energy for rotational motion (10-1) The Rotational Variables In this chapter we will study the rotational motion of rigid bodies about fixed axes. A rigid body is defined as one that can rotate with all its parts locked together and without any change of its shape. A fixed axis means that the object rotates about an axis that does not move. We can describe the motion of a rigid body rotating about a fixed axis by specifying just one .
