Accelerometer via ball on string

AI Thread Summary
To measure forward acceleration using a free-swinging ball on a string, one must consider the forces acting on the ball, including gravitational force and tension in the rope. A free body diagram can help visualize these forces. By applying Newton's second law, the net force can be computed vectorially. The relationship between acceleration (a) and the angle (theta) of the string with the vertical can be expressed as tan(theta) = a/g. This equation confirms the connection between the angle and the acceleration due to gravity.
andrewr0x
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
How would I go about measuring forward acceleration using a free-swinging ball on a stand? Could anyone post a free body diagram or an equation that might describe this?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Two external forces on the ball:
downward gravitational force with magnitude (mg)
tension tangent to the the rope (T)

Compute net-force vectorially.

Use Netwon II.
Solve for the acceleration (a) as a function of angle (theta) with respect to the vertical.
 
Would tan(theta)=a/g ?
 
andrewr0x said:
Would tan(theta)=a/g ?
That's right. (Where theta is the angle the string makes with the vertical.)
 

Thread '1:1 versus 2:1 Mechanical Advantage debate'

The rope is tied into the person (the load of 200 pounds) and the rope goes up from the person to a fixed pulley and back down to his hands. He hauls the rope to suspend himself in the air. What is the mechanical advantage of the system? The person will indeed only have to lift half of his body weight (roughly 100 pounds) because he now lessened the load by that same amount. This APPEARS to be a 2:1 because he can hold himself with half the force, but my question is: is that mechanical...
View full post »

Thread 'Average velocity as a weighted mean'

Hello everyone, Consider the problem in which a car is told to travel at 30 km/h for L kilometers and then at 60 km/h for another L kilometers. Next, you are asked to determine the average speed. My question is: although we know that the average speed in this case is the harmonic mean of the two speeds, is it also possible to state that the average speed over this 2L-kilometer stretch can be obtained as a weighted average of the two speeds? Best regards, DaTario
View full post »

Thread 'Newton's first law?'

Some physics textbook writer told me that Newton's first law applies only on bodies that feel no interactions at all. He said that if a body is on rest or moves in constant velocity, there is no external force acting on it. But I have heard another form of the law that says the net force acting on a body must be zero. This means there is interactions involved after all. So which one is correct?
View full post »

Similar threads

I Does a rotating accelerometer moving linearly measure linear velocity?
Replies
47
Views
4K
Why Doesn't the Ball Rotate When Hit by a Pivoting Rod?
Replies
30
Views
3K
How Can I Relate Measurements from a Gyroscope and Accelerometer?
Replies
1
Views
2K
How to measure the Sun's acceleration relative to the galaxy?
Replies
6
Views
4K
How Do Resonant MEMS Accelerometers Detect Changes in Acceleration?
Replies
1
Views
13K
I Metal Ball Rolling in a Parabolic Bowl in the presence of a magnet
Replies
1
Views
1K
Proper Acceleration In Accelerometer ?
Replies
12
Views
4K
What does an accelerometer measure?
Replies
1
Views
2K
Momentum, Energy, and Elastic Collisions
Replies
4
Views
2K
I Reference frames in terms of homogenity/isotropy
Replies
18
Views
2K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top