English

The motion of two identical masses connected by an ideal string symmetrically placed over a corner

Popular Physics 2016-11-23 v3

Abstract

We introduce a novel, two-mass system that slides up an inclined plane while its center of mass moves down. The system consists of two identical masses connected by an ideal string symmetrically placed over a corner-shaped support. This system is similar to a double-cone that rolls up an inclined set of V-shaped rails. We find the double-cone's motion easy to demonstrate but difficult to analyze. Our example here is more straightforward to follow, and the experimental observations are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1511.03583,
  title  = {The motion of two identical masses connected by an ideal string symmetrically placed over a corner},
  author = {Constantin Rasinariu and Asim Gangopadhyaya},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1511.03583},
  year   = {2016}
}

Comments

10 pages, 7 figures; Accepted for publication in American Journal of Physics