Rotational Kinematics

Chapter 8
 Rotational Motion
• When an extended object such as a wheel rotates about its
axis, the motion cannot be analyzed by treating the object as
a particle because at any given time different parts of the
object have different linear velocities and linear
accelerations.
• We can, however, analyze the motion by considering an
extended object to be composed of a collection of particles,
each of which has its own linear velocity and linear
acceleration.
• A rigid body moves in pure rotation if
every point of the body moves in a
circular path. The center of these circles
must lie on a common straight line
called the axis of rotation.
Rotational Motion…
• In case of an ordinary bicycle wheel in pure rotation, if one
spoke turns through a certain angle Df in a time interval Dt,
then any other spoke must also turn through Df during the
same interval.
• The general motion of a rigid object will include both
rotational and translational components, for example, in the
case of a moving bicycle.
• In the present chapter, we will deal only pure rotational
motion. Moreover, we will consider only rigid objects, in
which there is no relative motion of parts as the objects
rotates.
 The Rotational Variables
• A rigid body is a body that can rotate with all its parts locked
together and without any change in its shape. A fixed axis means
that the rotation occurs about an axis that does not move.
 •A particle at P is at a fixed distance r from the
origin and rotates in a circle of radius r.
• It is convenient to represent the position of P
with its polar coordinates (r, q), where r is the
distance from the origin to P and qis measured
counterclockwise from some reference line.
• As the particle moves along the circle from the
reference line (q=0), it moves through an arc of
length s. The arc length s is related to the angle
qthrough the relationship
The Rotational Variables…
• The dimensions of q: it is the ratio of an arc length and the
radius of the circle, it is a pure number. However, we commonly
give q the artificial unit radian (rad), where ‘one radian is the
angle subtended by an arc length equal to the radius of the arc’.
1 revolution = 2p radians = 360o
1 radian = 57.3o = 0.159 revolution

 • If the body rotates about the rotation

axis, changing the angular position of
the reference line from q1to q2, the
body undergoes an angular
displacement Dq during the time
interval Dt given by
The Rotational Variables…
  define the average angular velocity wav of particle P in this
•• We
time interval as

• Instantaneous angular velocity w is the limit approached by

this ratio as Dt approaches zero:

• Angular velocity can be positive or negative, according to

whether q is increasing or decreasing. It’s dimension is time
inverse (T-1). Its units may be rad/s or rev/s.
• When we use the term ‘angular velocity’, it means
Instantaneous angular velocity. When we refer to angular
speed, we mean the magnitude of the angular velocity.
The Rotational Variables…
• If the angular velocity of P is not constant, then the point has
angular acceleration.
• Let w1 and w2 be the instantaneous angular velocities at time t1 and
t2 respectively. The average angular acceleration of the rotating
body in the interval from t1 and t2 is defined as

• The (instantaneous) angular acceleration a, with which we shall be

most concerned, is the limit of this quantity as Dt approaches zero.
Thus,

• The unit of angular acceleration is commonly the radian per second-

squared (rad/s2) or the revolution per second-squared (rev/s2)
  
•  
 Rotational Quantities as Vectors
• We can describe the position, velocity, and acceleration of a
single particle by means of vectors. If the particle is confined
to a straight line, however, we do not really need vector
notation. Such a particle has only two directions available to
it, and we can indicate these directions with plus and minus
signs.
• In the same way, a rigid body rotating about a fixed axis can
rotate only clockwise or counterclockwise as seen along the
axis, and again we can select between the two directions by
means of plus and minus signs.
• Can we treat the angular displacement, velocity, and
acceleration of a rotating body as vectors? The answer is a
qualified “yes”.
Rotational Quantities as Vectors…

(a) A record rotating about a vertical axis that coincides with the axis of
the spindle. (b) The angular velocity of the rotating record can be
represented by the vector, lying along the axis and pointing down, as
shown. (c) We establish the direction of the angular velocity vector as
downward by using a right-hand rule. When the fingers of the right hand
curl around the record and point the way it is moving, the extended
thumb points in the direction of .
 Rotational Quantities as Vectors…
• Right-hand rule, as shown in the last figures: Curl your right
hand about the rotating record, your fingers pointing in the
direction of rotation. Your extended thumb will then point in
the direction of the angular velocity vector. If the record were
to rotate in the opposite sense, the right-hand rule would tell
you that the angular velocity vector then points in the opposite
direction.
• Large angular displacements cannot be treated as vectors.
However, to be represented as a vector, a quantity must also
obey the rules of vector addition, one of which says that if you
add two vectors, the order in which you add them does not
matter. Angular displacements fail this test.
 Rotational Quantities as Vectors…
•   Rotation
Finite
• From its initial position, at the
top, the book is given two
successive 90° rotations, first
about the (horizontal) x-axis and
then about the (vertical) y axis.
• The book is given the same
rotations, but in the reverse
order.
• The result is not same,
therefore, this situation do not
follow the commutative law of
vector addition.
 Rotational Quantities as Vectors…
•• The
  situation changes as the angular displacement are made
smaller, e.g. for 20o rotation in similar way yield the nearly
same final position of the book.
• The smaller we make the rotation angle, the more similar the
final position become. If the angular displacement are made
infinitesimal, the positions are identical and the order of
rotations no longer affects the final outcome, i.e.

• Infinitesimal angular rotations can be represented as vectors.

• Quantities defined in terms of infinitesimal angular
displacements may also be vectors. For example, the Angular
velocity is . Since is a vector and dt is scalar , the quotient is a
vector.
• Angular velocity can be represented as vector
 Rotational Quantities as Vectors…
•• Angular
  acceleration is also a vector quantity. This follows from
the definition

• In which is a vector and dt is scalar. Thus is also a vector.

• The use of right hand rule to define the direction of the
vectors , and leads to a consistent vector formulism for all
rotational quantities.
• Latter we shall encounter other rotational quantities that are
vectors, such as torque and angular momentum.
 Rotation with Constant Angular Acceleration
• In pure translation, motion with a constant linear acceleration is
an important special case. A series of equations hold for it.
• In pure rotation, the case of constant angular acceleration is
also important, a parallel set of equations holds for this case too
• We shall write them from the corresponding linear equations,
substituting equivalent angular quantities for the linear ones.
Example: A grindstone rotates at constant
angular acceleration a=0.35 rad/s2. At time
t=0, it has an angular velocity of wo=-4.6
rad/s and a reference line on it is horizontal,
at the angular position qo=0.
At what time after t=0 is the reference line
at the angular position q=5.0 rev?

• The angular acceleration is constant, so we can use the rotation

equation:

Substituting known values and setting qo=0 and q=5.0 rev = 10p
rad, wo=-4.6 rad/s, a=0.35 rad/s2 , and solving this quadratic equation
for t, we find
t = 32 s
Relationship Between Linear and Angular Variables
• When a rigid body, such as a merry-go-round, rotates around
an axis, each particle in the body moves in its own circle
around that axis. Since the body is rigid, all the particles make
one revolution in the same amount of time; that is, they all
have the same angular speed w.
• However, the farther a particle is from the axis, the greater
the circumference of its circle is, and so the faster its linear
speed v must be.
• You can notice this on a merry-go-round. You turn with the
same angular speed w regardless of your distance from the
center, but your linear speed v increases noticeably if you
move to the outside edge of the merry-go-round.
Relationship Between Linear and Angular Variables
•• We
  often need to relate the linear variables s, v, and a for a
particular point in a rotating body to the angular variables q,
w, and a for that body.
• The two sets of variables are related by r, the perpendicular
distance of the point from the rotation axis.

Position
• If a reference line on a rigid body rotates through an angle q,
a point within the body at a position r from the rotation axis
moves a distance s along a circular arc, where s is given by

• The angle qhere must be measured in radians because it is

the definition of angular measure in radians.
Relationship Between Linear and Angular Variables
•   Speed
The
• Differentiating the last equation with respect to time—with r
held constant—leads to

• However, ds/dtis the tangential linear speed of the point in

question, and dq/dtis the angular speed wof the rotating
body. So

• The linear velocity is always tangent to the circular path of the

point in question.
• The above equation tells us that since all points within the
rigid body have the same angular speed w, points with greater
radius r have greater linear speed v.
Relationship Between Linear and Angular Variables
•  

• This equation tells us that the

time for one revolution is the
distance 2pr traveled in one
revolution divided by the
speed at which that distance is
traveled.
Relationship Between Linear and Angular Variables
•• Differentiating
  with respect to time—again with r held
constant—leads to

• dvT/dtrepresents only the part of the linear acceleration that

is responsible for changes in the magnitude v of the linear
velocity . Like , that part of the linear acceleration is tangent
to the path of the point in question. We call it the tangential
component at of the linear acceleration of the point, and we
write
Relationship Between Linear and Angular Variables
•• A
  particle (or point) moving in a circular path has a radial
component of linear acceleration,

 •This component and linear

acceleration is directed
radially inward, that is
responsible for changes in
the direction of the linear
velocity .
• By substituting for v, we
can write this component
as
Relationship Between Linear and Angular Variables…
• On a rotating body the points that have at different distances from the axis
do not have the same linear displacement, speed or acceleration, but all
points on a rigid body rotating about a fixed axis do have the same angular
displacement, speed, or acceleration at any instant.
• When a tall chimney is toppled by an explosive charge at its base, it will
often break as it fall, the rupture starting on the downward side of the falling
chimney.
• Before rupture the chimney is a rigid body,
rotating about an axis near its base with a certain
angular acceleration a. The top of the chimney has
tangential acceleration aT=aL. The vertical
component of aT can easily exceed g, i.e., the top
of the chimney is falling with a vertical
acceleration greater than g.
• This can happen only as long as chimney remains a
single rigid body. The shearing force is often more
than the mortar can tolerate and the chimney
breaks.
Example: On a compact disc, audio
information is stored in a series of pits and
flat areas on the surface of the disc. The
information is stored digitally, and the
alternations between pits and flat areas on
the surface represent binary ones and
zeroes to be read by the compact disc
player and converted back to sound waves.
The pits and flat areas are detected by a
system consisting of a laser and lenses.

The length of a string of ones and zeroes representing one piece of information is
the same everywhere on the disc, whether the information is near the center of
the disc or near its outer edge. In order that this length of ones and zeroes
always passes by the laser–lens system in the same time period, the tangential
speed of the disc surface at the location of the lens must be constant. This
requires that the angular speed vary as the laser–lens system moves radially
along the disc. In a typical compact disc player, the constant speed of the surface
at the point of the laser–lens system is 1.3 m/s.
(A) Find the angular speed of the disc in revolutions per minute when
information is being read from the innermost first track (r = 23 mm) and
the outermost final track (r = 58 mm).
(B) The maximum playing time of a standard music CD is 74 min and 33 s.
How many revolutions does the disc make during that time?
Solution (A) we can find the angular speed that will give us the required
tangential speed at the position of the inner track,

• For outer track

• The player adjusts the angular speed & of the disc within this range so
that information moves past the objective lens at a constant rate.
Solution(B) We know that the angular speed is always decreasing, and
we assume that it is decreasing steadily, with a constant. If t = 0 is
the instant that the disc begins, with angular speed of 57 rad/s,
then the final value of the time t is (74 min)(60 s/min)+33s=4473 s.
We are looking for the angular displacement Dq during this time
interval.
• The track moves

• In revolutions

(C) What total length of track moves past the objective lens during this
time?
• Because we know the (constant) linear velocity and the time
interval, this is a straightforward calculation:
(D) What is the angular acceleration of the CD over the 4473-s time
interval? Assume that a is constant.
Solution The most direct approach to solving this problem is to use
the results of part (A). We should obtain a negative number for
the angular acceleration because the disc spins more and more
slowly in the positive direction as time goes on. Our answer
should also be relatively small because it takes such a long time—
more than an hour—for the change in angular speed to be
accomplished:

• The disc experiences a very gradual decrease in its rotation rate,

as expected.
Problems
Q u e stio ns ?