Increase moment of inertia, slipping down an incline

AI Thread Summary
An increase in the moment of inertia of a cylinder, achieved by redistributing mass away from the center, results in a decrease in linear acceleration when rolling down an incline. The friction force must increase to maintain rolling motion, as the gravitational force component remains constant. This means that a hoop, which has a higher moment of inertia than a solid cylinder, will roll down the incline slower and may start to slip at a lower angle. If the incline angle is increased sufficiently, the hoop could slip before the cylinder, potentially allowing it to win a race under specific conditions. The discussion emphasizes the relationship between moment of inertia, friction, and rolling dynamics on inclines.
IBAStudent
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Hi, I'm trying to find out what effect an increase in moment of inertia of a cylinder would have on slipping when the cylinder rolls down an incline.
Starting with: ma=mgsin(theta)-f, where f is the friction force, which is less than or equal to µmgcos(theta), normal force times µ.
We already know that an increase in moment of inertia without increasing the radius will decrease the linear acceleration, and therefore, for instance a hoop, will roll down the incline slower than a cylinder of equal mass and radius.
Therefore ma will decrease, but mgsin(theta) is constant, so f has to increase, right? An increase in moment of inertia requires a higher friction force.
Does this mean that if we were to let a solid cylinder and a hoop race down a ramp of angle (theta), the hoop would start to slip first if we were to increase the angle (theta)? If this is true, wouldn't it be possible for the hoop to win the race, if at a specific angle, the hoop started to slip and the cylinder didn't, because less friction is needed to sustain its rolling motion?
Could anyone please confirm my train of thoughs? Thanks :)
 
Physics news on Phys.org
You have to work it out in details, here are the guidelines:

1) First note that increasing the moment of inertia without increasing the radius means to increase the mass.

2) Apply Ʃτ = Iα.

3) Apply ƩF = ma.

4) Knowing that m could be expressed in terms of I, and α could be expressed in terms of a; the above equations form a system of two equations of two unknowns: I and a.

5) Solve the system to find a in terms of I.

6) Then analyze the obtained equation.
 
I'm sorry for not being clear enough: The way I though of increasing the moment of inertia wasn't by keeping the radius constant and increasing the mass, but change the mass distribution so that the mass is concentrated away from the center of rotation.
 
The rope is tied into the person (the load of 200 pounds) and the rope goes up from the person to a fixed pulley and back down to his hands. He hauls the rope to suspend himself in the air. What is the mechanical advantage of the system? The person will indeed only have to lift half of his body weight (roughly 100 pounds) because he now lessened the load by that same amount. This APPEARS to be a 2:1 because he can hold himself with half the force, but my question is: is that mechanical...
Hello everyone, Consider the problem in which a car is told to travel at 30 km/h for L kilometers and then at 60 km/h for another L kilometers. Next, you are asked to determine the average speed. My question is: although we know that the average speed in this case is the harmonic mean of the two speeds, is it also possible to state that the average speed over this 2L-kilometer stretch can be obtained as a weighted average of the two speeds? Best regards, DaTario
Some physics textbook writer told me that Newton's first law applies only on bodies that feel no interactions at all. He said that if a body is on rest or moves in constant velocity, there is no external force acting on it. But I have heard another form of the law that says the net force acting on a body must be zero. This means there is interactions involved after all. So which one is correct?
Back
Top