Help Needed: Determining Speed of Dart After Being Fired

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The discussion revolves around calculating the tension in the cord of a pendulum system after a dart is fired and becomes embedded in a block. Participants debate whether the tension should be expressed as T = (m + M)g or if centripetal force should also be considered, leading to different interpretations of the forces acting on the system. Some argue that at the lowest point of the swing, the tension must equal the weight of the combined masses, while others emphasize the role of centripetal force in the dynamic motion. The conversation highlights confusion over the equilibrium state of the system and the definitions of forces involved. Ultimately, the consensus leans towards the understanding that tension at the lowest point is indeed greater than just the gravitational force due to the presence of centripetal force.
  • #51
I get

T = g(M+m)(3-2cos \theta _{max})

Shocked that dex and cyclo missed this !

Edit : When I looked at this, dexter hadn't posted this last post yet. His link gives the same answer, but in this case, the mass is M+m.
 
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  • #52
Gokul43201 said:
I get

T = g(M+m)(3-2cos \theta _{max})

Shocked that dex and cyclo missed this ! :


Well,it happens... :-p Reminds of some chass matches i played years ago...I was blind... Sometimes is just not see obvious things,like this problem... :redface:

Daniel.
 
  • #53
Well i guess that happens sometimes, i cannot believe it too, when i read the vincent reply i knew something was wrong, nice vincent and apchem noticed, and kept on trying to prove their point :cool:

Well if you are going to bring up chess matches, dexter, i used to have an history of one particular one in which i lost the match, and there was a checkmate i didn't see, it was a sad game for me :cry:
 
  • #54
Of course, it happens.

I goofed up in another thread, earlier today, with a wrong substitution, and realized it only much later when I wrote down the formula to substantiate my result.
 
  • #55
Alright, now that ya'll have come to a consensus, can you make it understandable to me? (because I'm so confused after hearing everyone's different comments I don't know what is right anymore). Basically, when I've dealt with pendulums, I've only dealt with radial acceleration in the form: a=v^2/r
And I've never heard of centripetal/centrifugal forces...

So can anyone break down the work you did to show it in a simple way that i will understand, please? I'd REALLY appreciate it...
 
  • #56
Okay,the two bodies which are joint together are in a circular movement round the point of suspension "O".
The Second law of Dynamics for this body,projected onto the radial direction reads
T-(m+M)g\cos\theta =\frac{(m+M)v^{2}}{l} (1)
,where \theta is the angle at center,"T" is the tension in the in wire and \frac{v^{2}}{l} [/tex] is the radial acceleration.<br /> <br /> Now,write down the law of energy conservation between the highest point (in which the system has only potential energy) and the lowest point in which the system has only kinetic energy:<br /> \frac{(m+M)v^{2}}{2}=(m+M)gl(1-\cos\theta_{max}) (2)<br /> Note that this formula yields the maximum linear velocity the body (total) can have.Therefore,combining (1) and (2),taking into account that in both formulas,the subscript &#039;max&#039; for angles and velocity interviens<br /> T_{max}=(m+M)g+2(m+M)g(1-\cos\theta_{max})(3)<br /> <br /> ,which can be simplified to<br /> T_{max}=(m+M)g(3-2\cos\theta_{max})(4)<br /> <br /> The reason for why I&#039;ve set \theta=0 is that u must maximize the function T.Which means maximize the velocity (which is done in formula (2)) and maximize the gravity as well,which is done by setting \cos\theta =1 or,equivalently,\theta=0<br /> <br /> Daniel.
 
  • #57
a=v^2/r is centripetal acceleration, multiply by mass for force. And I am now also confused, the problem suggest that the solution should use theta max, L, g, m, Mo. Now if centripetal accerleeration is taken into affect it should be FT = (m+Mo)g - Fc. Because centripetal force is in the same direction as force tension.

You can find Fc by using the maximum y height in potential energy formula, and transforming it into kinetic energy, then find the velocity.
With the velocity you can calculate Fc.

I got 2g(L-Lcos(theta))=v^2

(m+Mo)g - [(m+Mo)(2g(L-Lcos(theta)))]/L = Fnet

I think this is right, I coudl be very wrong as I just learned this stuff my self
 
  • #58
The mademoiselle insisted we do it as simple as possible,without using the notion of centripetal force/accleration.I believe that could be done...And my last post simply confirms it...

Daniel.

EDIT:IIRC,in high-school u're being taught centripetal forces/accelerations.It's just that she hasn't been taught these things yet...
 
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  • #59
Jeez... You guys should use stuff that we learn in High School. As this is the k-12 forums. Applying higher level formulas to HS problems might be easier but confuses us simple minded ones. :)

Edit: Lol You think the second law of dynamics is simple? It looks like you could derive it from HS formulas but I don't think that they give it in that form, thus it might be confusing. The lady new what centripital acceleration was, if you read, she just knew it by a different name.
 
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  • #60
dextercioby said:
Okay,the two bodies which are joint together are in a circular movement round the point of suspension "O".
The Second law of Dynamics for this body,projected onto the radial direction reads
T-(m+M)g\cos\theta =\frac{(m+M)v^{2}}{l} (1)
,where \theta is the angle at center,"T" is the tension in the in wire and \frac{v^{2}}{l} [/tex] is the radial acceleration.<br /> <br /> Now,write down the law of energy conservation between the highest point (in which the system has only potential energy) and the lowest point in which the system has only kinetic energy:<br /> \frac{(m+M)v^{2}}{2}=(m+M)gl(1-\cos\theta_{max}) (2)<br /> Note that this formula yields the maximum linear velocity the body (total) can have.Therefore,combining (1) and (2),taking into account that in both formulas,the subscript &#039;max&#039; for angles and velocity interviens<br /> T_{max}=(m+M)g+2(m+M)g(1-\cos\theta_{max})(3)<br /> <br /> ,which can be simplified to<br /> T_{max}=(m+M)g(3-2\cos\theta_{max})(4)<br /> <br /> The reason for why I&#039;ve set \theta=0 is that u must maximize the function T.Which means maximize the velocity (which is done in formula (2)) and maximize the gravity as well,which is done by setting \cos\theta =1 or,equivalently,\theta=0<br /> <br /> Daniel.
<br /> <br /> Thanks... but it&#039;s still a little complicated because I&#039;ve never used those formulas before... how did you get the law of energy conservation equation?
 
  • #61
do you know the formulas of potential energy and kinetic energy, if no, here is the formulas:
PE= mgh (h is the height between the object and the floor)
KE= 1/2 mv^2
and the total energy is PE+KE
since energy cannot come out from nothing, the total energy for the system at anytime is the same... just compute the total energy at the lowest point and the highest point... set them equal... vala, you have the formulas of conservation of energy...
 
  • #62
Simple.In this case,the law of total energy conservation can be applied and it reads,for two arbitrary states.

KE(1)+PE(1)=KE(2)+PE(2)
The explicit expression i posted can be deduced from the geometry of the figure.
You chose the lowest point of the circular trajectory as to have 0 potential energy and the upmost to have only potential energy and the kinetic one to be zero.Analyzing the geometry,u can reach the formula almost immediately.

Daniel.
 
  • #63
Thanks, I'll let you know if i get the right answer when I do it out----THANKS!
 
  • #64
dextercioby said:
Okay,the two bodies which are joint together are in a circular movement round the point of suspension "O".
The Second law of Dynamics for this body,projected onto the radial direction reads
T-(m+M)g\cos\theta =\frac{(m+M)v^{2}}{l} (1)
,where \theta is the angle at center,"T" is the tension in the in wire and \frac{v^{2}}{l} [/tex] is the radial acceleration.<br /> <br /> Now,write down the law of energy conservation between the highest point (in which the system has only potential energy) and the lowest point in which the system has only kinetic energy:<br /> \frac{(m+M)v^{2}}{2}=(m+M)gl(1-\cos\theta_{max}) (2)<br /> Note that this formula yields the maximum linear velocity the body (total) can have.Therefore,combining (1) and (2),taking into account that in both formulas,the subscript &#039;max&#039; for angles and velocity interviens<br /> T_{max}=(m+M)g+2(m+M)g(1-\cos\theta_{max})(3)<br /> <br /> ,which can be simplified to<br /> T_{max}=(m+M)g(3-2\cos\theta_{max})(4)<br /> <br /> The reason for why I&#039;ve set \theta=0 is that u must maximize the function T.Which means maximize the velocity (which is done in formula (2)) and maximize the gravity as well,which is done by setting \cos\theta =1 or,equivalently,\theta=0<br /> <br /> Daniel.
<br /> <br /> For your equation for the second law of dynamics... is it basically saying the sum of the forces equals mass x (radial)acceleration which is also equal, in this case, to Tension minus Fg (minus because Fg is negative). .. ? So you set them equal... (?)
 
  • #65
YAY! I did it on my own using what you had said about setting energies in different positions equal and I got the same answer as yoU! thanks.
 
  • #66
The second law reads in vector form
m\vec{a}=\vec{G}+\vec{N}

Project this law on radial direction.U'll find my equation.


Daniel.
 
  • #67
dextercioby said:
The second law reads in vector form
m\vec{a}=\vec{G}+\vec{N}

Project this law on radial direction.U'll find my equation.


Daniel.

is one of the equations set up T-(M+m)g = ...(that's G + N, right?)
because (M+m)g is negative... ?
 
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