English

Rolling of asymmetric disks on an inclined plane

Classical Physics 2015-09-22 v1

Abstract

In a recent papers, Turner and Turner (2010 {\em Am. J. Phys.} {\bf 78} 905-7) and Jensen (2011 {\em Eur. J. Phys.} {\bf 32} 389-397) analysed the motion of asymmetric rolling rigid bodies on a horizontal plane. These papers addressed the common misconception that the instantaneous point of contact of the rolling body with the plane can be used to evaluate the angular momentum L\mathbf L and the torque τ\boldsymbol\tau in the equation of motion dL/dt=τd\mathbf L/dt = \boldsymbol\tau. To obtain the correct equation of motion, the "phantom torque" or various rules that depend on the motion of the point about which L\mathbf L and τ\boldsymbol\tau are evaluated were discussed. In this paper, I consider asymmetric disks rolling down an inclined plane and describe the most basic way of obtaining the correct equation of motion; that is, to choose the point about which L\mathbf L and τ\boldsymbol\tau are evaluated that is stationary in an inertial frame.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1107.4056,
  title  = {Rolling of asymmetric disks on an inclined plane},
  author = {Ben Yu-Kuang Hu},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1107.4056},
  year   = {2015}
}