Body sliding down an accelerating hemisphere

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the dynamics of a body sliding down a frictionless hemisphere with a constant horizontal acceleration, denoted as W. The participants derive equations to determine the relative velocity of the body as it leaves the hemisphere and the angle θ at which this occurs, particularly under the condition where W equals g (the acceleration due to gravity). Key equations include the effective gravitational acceleration, geff, which modifies the gravitational force acting on the body due to the hemisphere's acceleration. The analysis reveals that the body does not follow a circular path relative to the Earth, but rather a more complex trajectory influenced by the horizontal acceleration of the hemisphere.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Newton's second law of motion
  • Familiarity with centripetal acceleration concepts
  • Knowledge of effective gravitational acceleration in non-inertial frames
  • Basic principles of energy conservation in mechanics
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the concept of effective gravitational acceleration in non-inertial reference frames
  • Learn about centripetal and tangential acceleration in circular motion
  • Explore the dynamics of bodies on accelerating surfaces
  • Investigate the mathematical modeling of trajectories in non-inertial frames
USEFUL FOR

Students of physics, mechanical engineers, and anyone interested in the dynamics of motion on accelerating surfaces will benefit from this discussion.

  • #31
So in the occasion where we don't rotate the system,the initial potential energy would be mgeffd, d would be what?
 
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  • #32
I probably should use a prime on θ to denote the angle from the y' axis in the rotated figure. So, in the rotated figure, the body starts at θ' = β, which corresponds to θ = 0 in the top figure. In the rotated figure, the body falls off for some θ' > β, which means it falls off for some θ > 0 in the upper figure.
 
  • #33
chester20080 said:
So in the occasion where we don't rotate the system,the initial potential energy would be mgeffd, d would be what?

Draw a figure showing the initial position and final position of the block (where it leaves the surface). Draw a vector between these two positions. This is the displacement vector Δr of the body. d is the component of Δr in the direction of geff.
 
  • #34
I think I found an equation for the relative velocity,considering the rotated system as you advised me to.I have:
urelative=\sqrt{}2R(g-gcosθ+Wsinθ). It yields Urelative=0 for θ=0.
 
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  • #35
chester20080 said:
I think I found an equation for the relative velocity,considering the rotated system as you advised me to.I have:
urelative=\sqrt{}2(g-gcosθ+Wsinθ). It yields Urelative=0 for θ=0.

Except for a missing R that looks good!
 
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  • #36
Yes,I forgot it,but I edited the post.
 
  • #37
And the equation for the angle I got:
sinθ(2-\sqrt{}2)-2cosθ+2=0 and for θ=17 degrees it yields 0.2587=0,which considering that 17 degrees is an approximation,is very good!
 
  • #38
I hope that is the result for this exercise.Thank you very very much for your time and your invaluable help,I appreciate it!
 
  • #39
chester20080 said:
And the equation for the angle I got:
sinθ(2-\sqrt{}2)-2cosθ+2=0

I don't think that's correct.

I find the algebra to be much simpler if I work with the rotated figure and derive an expression for the angle θ' (measured from the y' axis) at which the block falls off. It is then easy to convert this to the angle θ in the non-rotated figure. Also, I think it is easier to keep the expressions in terms of geff rather than g. You should find geff cancels out. (But the "angle of tilt" β of geff does enter the solution.)
 
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  • #40
Can you please give me the angle equation you found,in order to work on my equations and to compare what I will find with yours and tell you tomorrow what I will have found?Unfortunately here (in Greece) it is almost midnight and I am too tired to have a clear mind right now.
 
  • #41
I find

##\theta = \cos^{-1}(\frac{2}{3}\cos\beta) - \beta##

##\beta## is determined from g and W.
 
  • #42
Hey,I found 3cosθ-3sinθ-2=0 which is equivalent as I checked with your equation (just use the formula cos(θ+β)=cosθ*cosβ-sinθ*sinβ and cosβ=g/sqrt{g2+W2} and sinβ=W/sqrt{g2+W2}).And for approximately 17 degrees it yields -0.0027=0 which is excellent!My only doubt is that this angle equation for θ=0 gives 3=2,which is not valid.Is it something to worry about?
 
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  • #43
chester20080 said:
Hey,I found 3cosθ-3sinθ-2=0 which is equivalent
Good.

My only doubt is that this angle equation for θ=0 gives 3=2,which is not valid.Is it something to worry about?

This just shows that θ = 0 is not a solution of the equation 3cosθ-3sinθ-2=0.
So, the body does not leave the surface at θ = 0.
 
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  • #44
Ok,thank you for everything!
 

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