- #1
conana
- 23
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Homework Statement
On a frictionless horizontal table, a stick of mass m and length l spins around a pivot at one of its ends with angular frequency [tex]\omega[/tex]. It collides and sticks to an identical stick (which is presumably stationary), with an overlap length equal to x. Immediately before the collision, the pivot is removed. What should x be so that after the collision the double-stick system has translational but no rotational motion?
The Attempt at a Solution
From the diagram provided, it appears that the collision is inelastic so I am pretty sure I can not use conservation of energy. I guess my approach would be to use conservation of angular momentum and possibly linear momentum as well. I am pretty lost as to how to get started. I tried writing out an expression for my angular momentum but I am not sure what to use as my origin and how to find the angular momentum after the collision.