Moment of Inertia of a solid sphere

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SUMMARY

The moment of inertia of a uniform solid sphere for rotation about a diameter is calculated using the integral I = ∫ r² dm, where dm = ρ dV and ρ = 3M/(4πR³). The correct formula derived for the moment of inertia is I = (2/5)MR². The user initially calculated I as (3/5)MR² due to confusion between the spherical coordinate r and the distance from the axis of rotation. This highlights the importance of correctly interpreting the variables in the context of the problem.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of classical mechanics principles, particularly moment of inertia
  • Familiarity with spherical coordinates and volume integrals
  • Knowledge of calculus, specifically triple integrals
  • Basic concepts of mass distribution and density
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  • Review the derivation of moment of inertia for various shapes, focusing on solid and hollow spheres
  • Study the application of spherical coordinates in physics problems
  • Learn about the significance of the axis of rotation in calculating moment of inertia
  • Explore advanced integration techniques for solving physics problems involving continuous mass distributions
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Students studying classical mechanics, physics educators, and anyone interested in understanding the mathematical derivation of moment of inertia for solid and hollow spheres.

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Homework Statement



Taylor, Classical Mechanics Problem 10.11 **
a) Use the result of problem 10.4 (derivation of the general integral for a moment of inertia of a continuous mass distribution in spherical coordinates, using point particles) to find the moment of inertia of a uniform solid sphere for rotation about a diameter.
b) Do likewise for a uniform hollow sphere whose inner and outer radii are a and b. [One slick way to do this is to think of the hollow sphere as a solid sphere of radius b from which you have removed a sphere of the same density but radius a.]

Homework Equations



## I = \int r^2 dm ## - 1

## dm = \rho dV ## - 2

## \rho = \frac{M}{\frac{4\pi R^3}{3}} = \frac{3M}{4\pi R^3} ## - 3

## dV = r^2 sin \theta dr d\theta d\phi ## - 4

The Attempt at a Solution



I'm limiting it to part a for now, since that's where I got stuck. The problem statement is "any diameter", and I'm going to center the sphere on the origin and have it rotate about the z-axis, for convenience. The previous problem it references is a derivation of the general integral in spherical coordinates, so that's the system I'll be using here.

First, combining the equations to make a volume integral:

## I = \frac{3M}{4\pi R^3} \iiint r^4 sin \theta dr d\theta d\phi ##

Where the integration bounds are:

## r: 0 \rightarrow R ##
## \theta: 0 \rightarrow \pi ##
## \phi: 0 \rightarrow 2 \pi ##

First integrating phi:

## I = \frac{3M}{2 R^3} \iint r^4 sin \theta dr d\theta ##

And then theta:

## I = \frac{3M}{R^3} \int r^4 dr ##

And finally r:

## I = \frac{3M}{R^3} \frac{R^5}{5} = \frac{3}{5}MR^2 ##

But I know this is wrong, as the answer I learned in freshman mechanics was

## I = \frac{2}{5} MR^2 ##

And I can't seem to figure out why the answer is incorrect.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
##r## in the definition of the moment of inertia is the distance from the axis of rotation, not the spherical coordinate ##r##.
 

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