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roffelos
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If anyone could help me with this problem I would be very grateful, its been annoying me for a day or two now! Its one of those exam questions that lead you through a derivation, giving you blanks to fill in. Although these are designed to make the derivation easier, sometimes it makes a problem even more frustrating considering you know that you’ve missed something obvious, or found your own tangent and gotten lost, when you realize you can get the result they ask for!
I’m trying to solve a past exam question about 2 particles joined by a string, one of which is resting on a frictionless table, the other hanging underneath the table (the string being threaded through a small hole a distance r from the first particle). The particle on the table is in circular motion with angular velocity theta dot. I’ve seen this situation before, usually asking for the use of Lagrangian's and energy approaches, I’m stumped here and can not get the equation they ask for. So..
Using polar co-ordinates, with r(hat) pointing away from the hole the equation of motion for m1 is the sum of the centrifugal force in the radial direction Fr=m*r*theta dot and the Tension T in the string in the negative r direction so:
m1*a1=m1*r*thetadot^2 - T 1
Angular momentum conservation requires angular momentum Ptheta=r^2*m*thetadot satisfy
d/dt(ptheta)=0 3
so:
m*r^2*thetadot=Po
where po is some initial angular momentum, the problem states that at time t=0 r=a and velocity in the thetahat direction is vo therefore: Po=a*m*vo and
thetadot = a*vo/(r^2) 3
The question then defines the length of the string as l and the length underneath the table as y so that
y + r = l 4
The only forces on m2 are gravity m2*g and the Tension T acting in opposite directions, taking gravity to act in the negative z direction (z perpendicular to the table i.e. rhat) so:
m2*a2=T - m2*g 5
Now the question asks to use equations 1,3,4 and 5 to eliminate y, theta, and T. This is where I think I've missed something because I don’t have a y to eliminate, and so far the only blank spaces I’ve filled in are equations 1, 3 and 5. Eliminating T by rearranging 5 and substituting into 1 and realising that a1 = a2 = ar (and also substituting for thetadot^2 from 3) I get:
(m1 + m2)*ar = m1*alpha^2/r^3 - m2*g where alpha=vo*a
Which just looks like the equation of motion for a particle of mass m1 + m2 acted on by a net force given by the RHS of the above equation; which seems reasonable. Up until this point I think I'm ok, but the next blank is as follows:
d/dt( )=0
preceded by a comment that implies transforming the last equation. By rewriting ar as rddot and rearranging I come to:
rddot - m1*alpha^2/[(m1 + m2)r^3] + m2*g/(m1 + m2) = 0
pulling out a d/dt (where here I may have made a mistake) I get:
d/dt( rdot + [1/(2*rdot)]*m1*alpha^2/[(m1 + m2)*r^2] + m2*g*t/(m1 + m2) + b) 6
where b is some constant
Here is where the trouble comes, as the next question is to integrate equation 6 with the initial conditions at t=0, r=a, and rdot=0. The form of the answer they give is:
rdot^2 = {- 2*m2*g/[(m2-m1)*r^2]}*(r-a)*(r-b)*(r+c) 7
with the last two blank boxes to be filled in being b= ? and c=?
Now there seems to be something obvious I’ve missed, as this question seems overly difficult compared to the others in the exam, but I can't for the life of me find it. When I integrate my equation 6 with those initial conditions I come out with a rdot, that is totally irreconcilable with their equation 7. So If anyone can shed some light on what they seem to be driving at in this problem I would be grateful! Even forgetting my equation 6, their equation 7 seems to be indicating three stable points in the system, namely r= a, b and -c, and presumably they want b and c in terms of l, vo and a. Even this I don’t see how to do unless with comparison to my equation 6 and their equation 7?
I’m trying to solve a past exam question about 2 particles joined by a string, one of which is resting on a frictionless table, the other hanging underneath the table (the string being threaded through a small hole a distance r from the first particle). The particle on the table is in circular motion with angular velocity theta dot. I’ve seen this situation before, usually asking for the use of Lagrangian's and energy approaches, I’m stumped here and can not get the equation they ask for. So..
Using polar co-ordinates, with r(hat) pointing away from the hole the equation of motion for m1 is the sum of the centrifugal force in the radial direction Fr=m*r*theta dot and the Tension T in the string in the negative r direction so:
m1*a1=m1*r*thetadot^2 - T 1
Angular momentum conservation requires angular momentum Ptheta=r^2*m*thetadot satisfy
d/dt(ptheta)=0 3
so:
m*r^2*thetadot=Po
where po is some initial angular momentum, the problem states that at time t=0 r=a and velocity in the thetahat direction is vo therefore: Po=a*m*vo and
thetadot = a*vo/(r^2) 3
The question then defines the length of the string as l and the length underneath the table as y so that
y + r = l 4
The only forces on m2 are gravity m2*g and the Tension T acting in opposite directions, taking gravity to act in the negative z direction (z perpendicular to the table i.e. rhat) so:
m2*a2=T - m2*g 5
Now the question asks to use equations 1,3,4 and 5 to eliminate y, theta, and T. This is where I think I've missed something because I don’t have a y to eliminate, and so far the only blank spaces I’ve filled in are equations 1, 3 and 5. Eliminating T by rearranging 5 and substituting into 1 and realising that a1 = a2 = ar (and also substituting for thetadot^2 from 3) I get:
(m1 + m2)*ar = m1*alpha^2/r^3 - m2*g where alpha=vo*a
Which just looks like the equation of motion for a particle of mass m1 + m2 acted on by a net force given by the RHS of the above equation; which seems reasonable. Up until this point I think I'm ok, but the next blank is as follows:
d/dt( )=0
preceded by a comment that implies transforming the last equation. By rewriting ar as rddot and rearranging I come to:
rddot - m1*alpha^2/[(m1 + m2)r^3] + m2*g/(m1 + m2) = 0
pulling out a d/dt (where here I may have made a mistake) I get:
d/dt( rdot + [1/(2*rdot)]*m1*alpha^2/[(m1 + m2)*r^2] + m2*g*t/(m1 + m2) + b) 6
where b is some constant
Here is where the trouble comes, as the next question is to integrate equation 6 with the initial conditions at t=0, r=a, and rdot=0. The form of the answer they give is:
rdot^2 = {- 2*m2*g/[(m2-m1)*r^2]}*(r-a)*(r-b)*(r+c) 7
with the last two blank boxes to be filled in being b= ? and c=?
Now there seems to be something obvious I’ve missed, as this question seems overly difficult compared to the others in the exam, but I can't for the life of me find it. When I integrate my equation 6 with those initial conditions I come out with a rdot, that is totally irreconcilable with their equation 7. So If anyone can shed some light on what they seem to be driving at in this problem I would be grateful! Even forgetting my equation 6, their equation 7 seems to be indicating three stable points in the system, namely r= a, b and -c, and presumably they want b and c in terms of l, vo and a. Even this I don’t see how to do unless with comparison to my equation 6 and their equation 7?