How Does Torque Affect Angular Momentum in a Sanding Disk?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion focuses on calculating the angular momentum of a sanding disk attached to an electric drill, given its rotational inertia and the applied torque. The key equations for angular momentum (L) are L = Iω and the relationship between torque (τ), rotational inertia (I), and angular acceleration (α) is highlighted. Participants suggest using Newton's second law for rotation to find angular acceleration and then applying kinematics to determine angular speed. There is also a mention of converting angular speed from radians per second to revolutions per minute. The conversation emphasizes understanding the relationships between torque, angular momentum, and angular speed for accurate calculations.
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A sanding disk with rotational inertia 1.2E-3 kg m^2 is attached to an electric drill whose motor delivers a torque of magnitude 16 N m about the central axis of the disk. About that axis, and with the torque applied for 33 ms,
(a) What is the magnitude of the angular momentum of the disk?

I have τ= 16 N m and t= 0.033 s
I= 1.2e-3 kg m^2

In my book first of all there are two equations given for angular momentum (L)
Those are L= Iw and L=rp and I'm not sure which one I'm suppose to use. I have I but not w and I don't have r or p and p=mv correct? So I feel like this is actually a lot easier than I'm making it out to be but I can't get it. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
 
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Use the fact that M*t = Iw2 - Iw1 = change in angular momentum, assuming that the disk started from rest, where M is the torque.
 
One way is to use Newton's 2nd law for rotation to find the angular acceleration of the disk while the torque is applied:
\tau = I \alpha

Once you have the angular acceleration, treat it as a kinematics problem.

(Even easier is to use angular impulse, as radou suggests, if you've covered that.)
 
Thanks for the help. There's a second part of the question that asks for the angular speed in rev/min. The angular speed I calculated was 438.9 rev/s and I just converted that. Just wanted to know if this is correct.
 
Standard units for angular speed are radians/sec. How did you calculate your value of rev/s?
 
if you treat it as a kinematics problem, how do you actually find the rotational momentum?
 
cardioid said:
if you treat it as a kinematics problem, how do you actually find the rotational momentum?
Once you've found the angular acceleration, as I describe in post #3, use it to find the angular speed at the end of the given time interval:
\omega = \alpha \Delta t

The angular momentum is just I \omega.
 
thank you Doc Al
 
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