Rigid Body Rotation Application

[lanew]

Homework Statement

I'm trying to include rigid body rotation in a problem I'm working on but can't seem to figure it out.

Two shafts oriented vertically are connected by a thin cross member of length R. Holding one shaft stationary and applying a constant tangential load F to the other shaft will cause rotation at some speed \omega. Given the mass m and moment of inertia I_z. Is it possible to calculate the angular velocity?

Homework Equations

Not sure what we need, but I believe it's going to involve energy.
K_{rot}=\frac{1}{2}I_z\omega^2
Other than that I'm not sure.

The Attempt at a Solution

No idea. I've been thinking about the problem for the past couple days but can't figure out how to determine the angular velocity given only these variables. If needed I may be able to supply other variables (this is a overly simplified example to give you an idea of the problem).

Thanks.

 

[ehild]

I have no idea about this problem without a picture... ehild

 

[lanew]

Sorry about that, here's a quick sketch:

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/192/selection005e.png/

 

[ehild]

Applying that constant tangential force F means constant torque (τ=R*F) with respect to the fixed axis and constant angular acceleration: β=τ/I, where I is the moment of inertia, again with respect to he fixed axis. The angular velocity will change with time.

ehild