Body sliding down an accelerating hemisphere

Click For Summary

Homework Help Overview

The problem involves a frictionless hemisphere with a body sliding down it while the hemisphere accelerates horizontally. The discussion centers around determining the relative velocity of the body when it leaves the hemisphere and the angle it makes at that moment, particularly under the condition that the horizontal acceleration equals the gravitational acceleration.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore the dynamics of the body in relation to the accelerating hemisphere, questioning the nature of the body's motion and the forces acting on it. There is discussion about switching reference frames to simplify the analysis and the implications of effective gravity in a non-inertial frame.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants sharing insights about the effective acceleration due to gravity in the hemisphere's frame and the nature of the body's trajectory. Some participants express uncertainty about the assumptions made regarding accelerations and forces, while others provide clarifications on the relationship between centripetal and tangential accelerations.

Contextual Notes

Participants note that their understanding of relative motion and effective forces is limited, and there is a recognition that the problem may involve concepts not yet fully covered in their coursework.

  • #31
So in the occasion where we don't rotate the system,the initial potential energy would be mgeffd, d would be what?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #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.
 
Last edited:
  • #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!
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: 1 person
  • #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.)
 
Last edited:
  • #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?
 
Last edited:
  • #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.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: 1 person
  • #44
Ok,thank you for everything!
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
Replies
5
Views
4K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 18 ·
Replies
18
Views
6K
  • · Replies 18 ·
Replies
18
Views
3K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
4K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
3K
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
2K
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
2K
Replies
23
Views
5K