Inertia is a measure of a system’s ability to resist a change in motion, and it is directly proportional to a system’s massiveness. Such a system or object could be stationary with respect to an observer, or it could move with a constant velocity. When a system moves with constant velocity with respect to anContinue reading “ENERGY AND MOMENTUM: Moment of Inertia and the Parallel Axis Theorem”
Tag Archives: center of mass
ROTATIONAL MOTION: What Distance Separates Two Projectiles Revolving Around a Common Center of Mass?
Q: Two projectiles separated by distance ( dt ) revolve around their center of mass ( cm = ½ dt ). Each projectile has a mass ( m ) of 4.81 x 1020 kg, and they have an instantaneous rotational speed ( ⍵ ) of 1.25 x 10-10 rad/s relative to the center of mass.Continue reading “ROTATIONAL MOTION: What Distance Separates Two Projectiles Revolving Around a Common Center of Mass?”
FORCE AND ACCELERATION: The Sum of all Torques Must Equal Zero
When a system is in static equilibrium, the sum of the forces acting upon the system must equal zero. In the diagram below, forces F1 and F2 exert torques upon the system: Recall that a torque ( 𝛕 = Fr sin θ ) has the ability to make a system rotate, and it is theContinue reading “FORCE AND ACCELERATION: The Sum of all Torques Must Equal Zero”
FORCE AND ACCELERATION: Systems of Torque and the Center of Mass
Thus far, physicists have not developed a concise definition of what constitutes mass and “ free space “. As a consequence, an overly simplistic definition of mass, albeit imperfect, may be used with convenience in laboratory settings. Mass, simply put, occupies free space. Relatively simple analyses of forces acting upon massive objects can be madeContinue reading “FORCE AND ACCELERATION: Systems of Torque and the Center of Mass”
RENAISSANCE PHYSICS 