Finding Moment of Interia of a 'Loop' when given Density & Cross sectional area

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around finding the moment of inertia of a circular loop formed from a copper wire, given its density and cross-sectional area. The original poster is working towards calculating the maximum angular acceleration of the loop in a magnetic field.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to integrate to find the mass of the loop using its density, expressing uncertainty about the integration process. Some participants suggest that integration may not be necessary and propose alternative methods to find the volume of the loop.

Discussion Status

The discussion is active, with participants providing different perspectives on how to approach the problem. There is a suggestion to simplify the loop to a cylinder for volume calculation, and a reminder that the mass must be determined before calculating the moment of inertia.

Contextual Notes

Participants note that the cross-sectional area is much smaller than the radius, which may influence the approach to finding the moment of inertia. The original poster has not yet provided the mass, which is necessary for further calculations.

anr91
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Homework Statement



I eventually have to solve for maximum angular acceleration of the loop in a magnetic field, and I have gotten everything with the exception of the moment of inertia, so I won't include the emf and B known variables.
Known: a copper wire with a density of [itex]\rho[/itex] = 8960 kg/m3 is formed into a circular loop of radius 0.50 m. Cross sectional area of the wire is 1.00 x 10-5m2.


Homework Equations


I=MR2
(and eventually) [itex]\tau[/itex] = [itex]\alpha[/itex]I



The Attempt at a Solution


I know since mass isn't given, I need to integrate something so I can use the density. However, it's been a really long time since I've integrated, so I'm not very familar with it. I've been unable to find an equation to find the volume of the 'loop,' so I know integration is the only way.
 
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No integration required. A loop is just a cylinder bent into a circle. Imagine bending the loop back into a "normal" cylinder, and find the volume of that object. (If you don't remember the formula for the volume if a cylinder, it is easy to find).
 


You can approximate the loop as a circle (line) because the cross section is much smaller than the radius.
 


Yes, I forgot to add that part. But first, OP needs to find the mass, which requires finding the volume.

Once that is done you would forget about the finite width and simply use I = MR2
 

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