Rotation of a Rigid Object

about a Fixed Axis

 Topics
1. Angular Position, Velocity and Acceleration
2. Analysis Model: Rigid Object under Constant Angular Acceleration
3. Angular and Translational Quantities
4. Torque
5. Analysis Model: Rigid Object under a Net Torque
6. Calculation of Moments of Inertia
7. Rotational Kinetic energy Energy Considerations in Rotational Motion
 Angular Position, Velocity and
Acceleration
The disc is rotating about a fixed
axis through O. The axis is
perpendicular to the plane of the
figure. Let us investigate the
motion of only one of the
millions of “particles” making up
the disc.
 Angular Position, Velocity and
Acceleration
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 Angular Position, Velocity and
Acceleration
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 Angular Position, Velocity and
Acceleration
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 Angular Position, Velocity and
Acceleration
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 Angular Position, Velocity and
Acceleration
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 Angular Position, Velocity and
Acceleration
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The rate at which this angular
displacement occurs can vary. If
the rigid object spins rapidly,
this displacement can occur in a
short time interval. If it rotates
slowly, this displacement occurs
in a longer time interval. These
different rotation rates can be
quantified by introducing
angular speed.
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Rotational Kinematics: Rotational Motion
with Constant Angular Acceleration
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 A wheel rotates with a constant angular
acceleration of 3.50 rad/s2.
(A) If the angular speed of the wheel is
2.00 rad/s at ti = 0, through what
angular displacement does the wheel
rotate in 2.00 s?
(B) Through how many revolutions has
the wheel turned during this time
interval?
(C) What is the angular speed of the
wheel at t =2.00 s?
 Angular and Linear Quantities
In this section we derive some
useful relationships between the
angular speed and acceleration
of a rotating rigid object and the
linear speed and acceleration of
a point in the object. To do so,
we must keep in mind that when
a rigid object rotates about a
fixed axis, every particle of the
object moves in a circle whose
center is the axis of rotation.
Because point P moves in a circle,
the linear velocity vector v is
always tangent to the circular path
and hence is called tangential
velocity.
• The tangential speed of a point on a rotating rigid object
equals the perpendicular distance of that point from the axis
of rotation multiplied by the angular speed.
• Therefore, although every point on the rigid object has the
same angular speed, not every point has the same tangential
speed because r is not the same for all points on the object.
• Equation shows that the tangential speed of a point on the
rotating object increases as one moves outward from the
center of rotation, as we would intuitively expect.
We can relate the angular
acceleration of the rotating rigid
object to the tangential
acceleration of the point P by
taking the time derivative of v
That is, the tangential component of the linear acceleration of a point
on a rotating rigid object equals the point’s distance from the axis of
rotation multiplied by the angular acceleration.
A point moving in a circular path
undergoes a radial acceleration ar
of magnitude v^2/r directed
toward the center of rotation
Because v=r⍵ for a point P on a
rotating object, we can express
the centripetal acceleration at
that point in terms of angular
speed as
The total linear acceleration
vector at the point is a=at+ar,
where the magnitude of ar is the
centripetal acceleration ac.
Because a is a vector having a
radial and a tangential
component, the magnitude of a at
the point P on the rotating rigid
object is
 In a typical compact disc player, the
tangential speed of the disc surface at
the location of the lens must be constant
measured 1.3 m/s.
(A) Find the angular speed of the disc in
revolutions per minute when
information is being read from the
innermost first track (r=23 mm) and
the outermost final track (r=58 mm)
(B) The maximum playing time of a
standard music CD is 74 min and 33 s.
How many revolutions does the disc
make during that time?
 In a typical compact disc player, the
constant speed of the surface at the
point of the laser–lens system is 1.3 m/s.
(A) What total length of track moves past
the objective lens during this time?
(B) What is the angular acceleration of
the CD over the 4 473-s time interval?
Assume that 𝝰 is constant.
 Rotational Kinetic Energy
An object rotating about a fixed axis
remains stationary in space, so there is no
kinetic energy associated with translational
motion. The individual particles making up
the rotating object, however, are moving
through space—they follow circular paths.
Consequently, there should be kinetic
energy associated with rotational motion
Let us consider an object as a collection of
particles and assume that it rotates about a
fixed z axis with an angular speed ⍵. Each
such particle has kinetic energy determined
by its mass and tangential speed. If the
mass of the ith particle is mi and its
tangential speed is vi, its kinetic energy is
Recall that although every particle in the
rigid object has the same angular speed ⍵,
the individual tangential speeds depend on
the distance ri from the axis of rotation
according to the expression vi=ri⍵. The total
kinetic energy of the rotating rigid object is
the sum of the kinetic energies of the
individual particles:
factor out ⍵^2 from the sum because it is common to every particle.

We simplify this expression by defining the quantity in parentheses as

the moment of inertia I. From the definition of moment of inertia, we
see that it has dimensions of ML^2
The quantities I and ⍵ in rotational
motion are analogous to m and v
in linear motion, respectively.

The moment of inertia is a

measure of the resistance of an
object to changes in its rotational
motion, just as mass is a measure
of the tendency of an object to
resist changes in its linear motion.
There is one major difference between mass and moment of inertia.
• Mass is an inherent property of an object.
• The moment of inertia of an object depends on your choice of
rotation axis. Thus, there is no single value of the moment of inertia
for an object. There is a minimum value of the moment of inertia,
which is that calculated about an axis passing through the center of
mass of the object.
 Consider an oxygen molecule (O2) rotating
in the xy plane about the z axis. The
rotation axis passes through the center of
the molecule, perpendicular to its length.
The mass of each oxygen atom is
2.66x10^(-26) kg, and at room temperature
the average separation between the two
atoms is d=1.21x10^(-10) m. (The atoms
are modeled as particles.)
(A) Calculate the moment of inertia of the
molecule about the z axis
(B) (B) If the angular speed of the molecule
about the z axis is 4.60 + 1012 rad/s,
what is its rotational kinetic energy?
 Four tiny spheres are fastened to the ends
of two rods of negligible mass lying in the
xy plane. We shall assume that the radii of
the spheres are small compared with the
dimensions of the rods.
(A) If the system rotates about the y axis
with an angular speed &, find the
moment of inertia and the rotational
kinetic energy about this axis
(B) Suppose the system rotates in the xy
plane about an axis (the z axis) through
O. Calculate the moment of inertia and
rotational kinetic energy about this axis.
 Calculation of Moment of Inertia
We can evaluate the moment of
inertia of an extended rigid object
by imagining the object to be
divided into many small volume
elements, each of which has mass
Δmi. We use the definition

and take the limit of this sum as

Δmi→0. In this limit, the sum
becomes an integral over the
volume of the object:
It is usually easier to calculate
moments of inertia in terms of the
volume of the elements rather
than their mass, and we can easily
make that change by using ρ=m/V,
where ρ is the density of the
object and V is its volume. From
this equation, the mass of a small
element is dm=ρdV.
• The density given by ρ=m/V sometimes is referred to as volumetric
mass density because it represents mass per unit volume.

• Often we use other ways of expressing density. For instance, when

dealing with a sheet of uniform thickness t, we can define a surface
mass density σ=ρt, which represents mass per unit area.

• Finally, when mass is distributed along a rod of uniform

cross-sectional area A, we sometimes use linear mass density
𝛾=M/L=ρA, which is the mass per unit length.
• The moments of inertia of rigid objects with simple geometry (high
symmetry) are relatively easy to calculate provided the rotation axis
coincides with an axis of symmetry.
• The calculation of moments of inertia about an arbitrary axis can be
cumbersome, however, even for a highly symmetric object.
Fortunately, use of an important theorem, called the parallel-axis
theorem, often simplifies the calculation.
• Suppose the moment of inertia about an axis through the center of mass
of an object is ICM. The parallel-axis theorem states that the moment of
inertia about any axis parallel to and a distance D away from this axis is
Consider once again the uniform rigid rod
of mass M and length L shown. Find the
moment of inertia of the rod about an axis
perpendicular to the rod through one end
(the y’ axis in Fig.)
 Torque
When a force is exerted on a rigid
object pivoted about an axis, the
object tends to rotate about that
axis. The tendency of a force to
rotate an object about some axis
is measured by a vector quantity
called torque τ (Greek tau).
Torque is a vector, but we will
consider only its magnitude here.
Consider the wrench pivoted on
the axis through O. The applied
force F acts at an angle Ø to the
horizontal. We define the
magnitude of the torque
associated with the force F by the
expression
where
r=the distance between the pivot
point and the point of application
of F
d is the perpendicular distance
from the pivot point to the line of
action of F.
From the right triangle in Figure
that has the wrench as its
hypotenuse, we see that d=rsinØ.
The quantity d is called the
moment arm (or lever arm) of F
In Figure the only component of F
that tends to cause rotation is
FsinØ, the component
perpendicular to a line drawn
from the rotation axis to the
point of application of the force.
The horizontal component FcosØ,
because its line of action passes
through O, has no tendency to
produce rotation about an axis
passing through O.
From the definition of torque, we
see that the rotating tendency
increases as F increases and as d
increases. This explains the
observation that it is easier to
rotate a door if we push at the
doorknob rather than at a point
close to the hinge. We also want
to apply our push as closely
perpendicular to the door as we
can. Pushing sideways on the
doorknob will not cause the door
to rotate.
If two or more forces are acting on
a rigid object, each tends to
produce rotation about the axis at
O. In this example, F2 tends to
rotate the object clockwise and F1
tends to rotate it
counterclockwise. We use the
convention that the sign of the
torque resulting from a force is
positive if the turning tendency of
the force is counterclockwise and
is negative if the turning tendency
is clockwise.
For example, in Figure, the torque
resulting from F1, which has a
moment arm d1, is positive and
equal to F1d1; the torque from F2
is negative and equal to -F2d2.
Hence, the net torque about O is
• Torque should not be confused with force.
• Forces can cause a change in linear motion, as described by
Newton’s second law.
• Forces can also cause a change in rotational motion, but the
effectiveness of the forces in causing this change depends on both
the forces and the moment arms of the forces, in the combination
that we call torque.
• Torque has units of force times length—newton·meters in SI
units—and should be reported in these units.
• Do not confuse torque and work, which have the same units but are
very different concepts.
 A one-piece cylinder is shaped as shown,
with a core section protruding from the
larger drum. The cylinder is free to rotate
about the central axis shown in the
drawing. A rope wrapped around the drum,
which has radius R1, exerts a force T1 to the
right on the cylinder. A rope wrapped
around the core, which has radius R2,
exerts a force T2 downward on the cylinder
(A) What is the net torque acting on the
cylinder about the rotation axis (which is
the z axis)
 A one-piece cylinder is shaped as shown,
with a core section protruding from the
larger drum. The cylinder is free to rotate
about the central axis shown in the
drawing. A rope wrapped around the drum,
which has radius R1, exerts a force T1 to the
right on the cylinder. A rope wrapped
around the core, which has radius R2,
exerts a force T2 downward on the cylinder
(A) Suppose T1=5.0 N, R1=1.0 m, T2=15.0 N,
and R2=0.50 m. What is the net torque
about the rotation axis, and which way
does the cylinder rotate starting from
rest?
 Relationship Between Torque and Angular
Acceleration
In this section we show the rotational analog of Newton’s second
law—the angular acceleration of a rigid object rotating about a fixed
axis is proportional to the net torque acting about that axis.
Consider a particle of mass m
rotating in a circle of radius r
under the influence of a tangential
force Ft and a radial force Fr, as
shown. The tangential force
provides a tangential acceleration
at,
The magnitude of the torque
about the center of the circle due
to Ft is
Because the tangential
acceleration is related to the
angular acceleration through the
relationship

the torque can be expressed as

Recall that mr^2 is the moment of
inertia of the particle about the z
axis passing through the origin, so
that
the torque acting on the particle is
proportional to its angular
acceleration, and the
proportionality constant is the
moment of inertia.
A uniform rod of length L and mass
M is attached at one end to a
frictionless pivot and is free to rotate
about the pivot in the vertical plane,
as shown. The rod is released from
rest in the horizontal position. What
is the initial angular acceleration of
the rod and the initial linear
acceleration of its right end?