- #1
H Smith 94
Gold Member
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Hi there!
I've been searching the internet for hours trying to find a decent explanation to this question.
I'm thinking particularly of the example of a precessing spinning top.
(Note: I own this diagram. Please do not use it without direct and written permission.)
So when the top is tilted away from the axis of symmetry, its weight W and the reaction force produce a couple set apart by the distance r from the point of contact and the centre of mass/gravity. The best explanation I've found is that the torque T produced by this couple produces precession, wherein
However this does not seem to explain where the centripetal force occurs because - according to the vectorial product - this torque acts in the direction of angular velocity, not perpendicular to it! In the above diagram the torque would be pointing towards the viewer from the centre of gravity, right?
Thanks in advance,
Harry
I've been searching the internet for hours trying to find a decent explanation to this question.
I'm thinking particularly of the example of a precessing spinning top.
(Note: I own this diagram. Please do not use it without direct and written permission.)
T = r × W
However this does not seem to explain where the centripetal force occurs because - according to the vectorial product - this torque acts in the direction of angular velocity, not perpendicular to it! In the above diagram the torque would be pointing towards the viewer from the centre of gravity, right?
Thanks in advance,
Harry
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