Experiment 3

Experiment 3: Rotation
Learning Goals

After you finish this lab, you will be able to:

1. Describe and experience the conservation of angular momentum in complicated

systems (e.g. when the axis of rotation is not fixed).

2. Get an intuitive understanding of torque and angular momentum as vector quantities.

3. Observe and explain the phenomenon of precession.

Introduction: Please read all of this BEFORE you come to lab.

Background and introduction

In this lab you will explore conservation of angular momentum and precession.
Rotational motion is different from linear motion in ways that can be confusing and
counter-intuitive. The exercises and questions in this lab will help you get a feel for
rotational motion and angular momentum.

Moment of inertia

The rotational analogue of mass is called moment of inertia, or rotational inertia. It

characterizes the motion of a rigid object that rotates. The moment of inertia of a very
small object that has a mass m and rotates around an axis a distance r away is given by
I = mr 2 . The moment of inertia of a large object rotating around a given axis can be
found by imagining the object being composed of small pieces, finding the
contribution that each piece makes to the moment of inertia, and then adding up the
separate contributions:

I = mi ri2
i

The moment of inertia of rigid bodies depends not only on the mass of the object, but
on how that mass is distributed and the location of the axis of rotation. The formulae
for calculating moment of inertia for various objects with uniform mass density can be
found on the Internet and in textbooks.

Torque and angular momentum

When a force is applied on an extended object, three things can happen: the object
remains static, the object moves, or the object deforms. One type of motion is
rotational motion. The way a force applied to an object results in rotational motion is
through a quantity called torque. Torque is the rotational analogue of force, and
it
depends not just on the force applied ( F ) but also on the displacement vector R
1
 Experiment 3
between the axis of rotation and the point of application of that force. The vector torque
is defined as:

= R F

The magnitude
of torque
can be calculated as: = RF sin where is the angle between
the vectors R and F . Since torque is a vector, it also has a direction. The direction of the
torque vector is determined by the right-hand rule, shown by the handy (!) summary
below:

HAND make sure you use your RIGHT hand

HAND point your right hand in the direction of R

FINGERS rotate your arm such that you can bend or curl your fingers so that they
point in the direction of F

THUMB stick your thumb out; it points in the direction of the torque .

Note that the torque vector is perpendicular to both the force vector and the
displacement vector.

Just as we have Newtons Second Law for linear motion, relating the net force on an
object with the rate of change of the objects linear momentum with time:
dp
F = dt
we have Newtons Second Law for rotational motion, relating the net torque on an object
with the rate of change of the objects angular momentum with time:

dL
= dt
The angular momentum of an object depends on the objects moment of inertia, as well
as the objects rotational or angular velocity:

L = I

Some of the strangeness of rotational motion arises from the fact that both the angular
velocity and the moment of inertia can changeso when you change the angular
momentum, its not simply a change in the angular velocity. In contrast, with linear

momentum p = mv were usually dealing with objects whose mass doesnt change.

In addition, the fact that torque is perpendicular to force leads to counter-intuitive

behavior like precession

2
 Experiment 3
Precession

Motion in which a torque changes the direction of the rotation axis is called
precession. An example of precession is a spinning top, or a gyroscope. If the top is
tilted so that it does not stand vertically, and it is not spinning, it will immediately fall
towards the ground when released due to the pull of gravity. However, if the top is
spinning, it does not immediately fall to the ground but instead it precessesit moves
sideways. How can we explain this?

First we note that the force of gravity acting on the center of mass of the off-center top
will provide a torque on the top. We also note that Newtons Second Law for rotational
motion is a vector equation:

dL
= dt
Newtons Second Law for rotational motion
tells us that the direction of the net torque will
be the same direction as the change in the
angular momentum vector.

Consider the picture shown at right. The

bottom tip of the top is fixed; it provides the
axis of rotation. The direction of the torque
due to the gravitational force will be out of the
page (use the right hand rule). If the top is not
spinning, its initial angular momentum is
zero. An instant later, it will have an angular
momentum pointing in the same direction as
the torque due to gravity, which is out of the
page. This means that the tops center of mass
rotates counterclockwise around the pivot: it
falls down towards the floor.

However, if the top is spinning, its initial angular momentum is not zero: it is
pointing along the direction of the axis of rotation (up and to the left in the picture).
An instant later, the angular momentum will point in a direction such that the
difference between the final angular momentum and the initial angular momentum is
in the direction of the net torque. Another way of saying this is that the direction of
the angular momentum will change in the direction of the net torque, which is out of
the page in this case. The final angular momentum will point diagonally (not vertical
nor horizontal) and slightly out of the page. If we repeat this analysis for the following
instant in time, and the one after that, and the one after that, we see that the resulting
motion of the top is for its center of mass to move in a horizontal circle (around the
vertical axis). This is precession.

3
 Experiment 3
We can use a similar analysis to figure out in which way we need to push or pull a
rotating object to make it do what we want it to do. If we want the direction of the axis of
rotation to change in a particular way, we need to apply a torque in the direction of the
desired change. This means that we need to apply a force in a direction and at a location
such that the torque has the desired direction.

Since torque is perpendicular to both applied force and distance from the axis of rotation
to the point of application of the force, the force we apply must be perpendicular to
the direction of the desired change! This is counter-intuitive, but it really works out this
way! You will explore this remarkable behavior in lab this week.

4
 Experiment 3

Experiment 3: Lab Activity

Follow along in this lab activity. Wherever you see a question highlighted in red, be sure
to answer that question, or paste in some data, or a graph, or whatever is being asked.
Your lab report will be incomplete if any of these questions remains unanswered.

Who are you? Take a picture of your lab group with Photo Both and paste it below along
with your names.

Materials:

You will be sharing materials with another group for this lab. Except for the computer,
there is one of the following for every two tables.

- Stool on rotating platform

Use this four-legged stool that sits on a rotating platform with low
friction to explore angular momentum phenomena, and to measure your
moment of inertia.

- Bicycle wheel

This bicycle wheel has a heavy weighted rim and handles along
the axis of rotation so you can hold on to it while it spins. Use it
with the spinning stool to explore (and experience!) conservation
of angular momentum and precession.

- Gyroscope

Use this gyroscope on a gimbal mount that allows it to rotate

freely along two axes of rotation (horizontal and vertical) to
explore the phenomenon of precession.

Make some predictions!

Before you actually do the lab, you should make some predictions based on what youve
learned in class.

Imagine you are sitting on a rotating chair holding two dumbbells, one in each hand, with
your arms stretched to the side. Your friend gives you a push, and you and the chair start

5
 Experiment 3
rotating. You then bring your arms in, close to your body. Describe what you think will
happen next.

A:

Imagine you are sitting at rest on a rotating chair holding a bicycle

wheel by the axle. The wheel is vertical, and it is spinning so that the
top edge is moving away from you as shown in the picture. What do
you think will happen if you turn the bicycle wheel to the left into
the horizontal position? What do you think will happen if you turn
the wheel back to being vertical?

A:

Imagine you are once again sitting at rest on a rotating chair holding a
bicycle wheel by the axle. This time the wheel is horizontal and it is
spinning. The chair is not rotating. What do you think will happen if
you turn the wheel by 180 degrees, so that it is horizontal in the
opposite direction? What do you think will happen if you turn the
wheel back to its original orientation?

A:

Part 1: Rotation and angular momentum

In this part of the lab you will work with a rotating stool and explore various aspects of
rotation and angular momentum. The stool is mounted on a ball bearing with low friction,
so that it does not immediately slow down its rotation. When using the bike wheel, be
careful of scarves or long hair.

Sitting on a chair with two dumbbells, one in each hand, and arms stretched to the side,
give yourself a push and start rotating. Slowly bring your arms close to your body. What
happens? Everyone in your group should do this so you can each experience it!

A:

Start with the chair at rest and the bicycle wheel vertical. The wheel should be spinning
so that the top edge is moving away from you. Turn the wheel to the left or to the right so
that it is now horizontal. What happens?

6
 Experiment 3
A:

Now start with the chair at rest and the spinning bicycle wheel horizontal. Slowly turn the wheel
by 180 degrees until it is horizontal with the opposite orientation. What happens?

A:

What happens if you turn the wheel back to the initial orientation?

A:

How do your experiences compare with your predictions from above?

A:

Part 2: Gyroscopes

In this part of the lab, you will explore gyroscopes and the phenomenon of precession.

First, hold a stationary (non-spinning) bicycle wheel from one

handle as shown in the photo, such that the wheel is vertical and
the handle is horizontal. How difficult is it to tilt the wheel
upwards, over your head?

A:

What do you think would happen if the bicycle wheel were

spinning?

A:

Now spin the wheel as fast as you can and hold it from one handle, such that the wheel is
vertical and the handle is horizontal. Describe what happens when you try to tilt the
wheel upwards. Is this what you would have expected?. Everyone should try it out
you really need to feel it to believe it.

A:
7
 Experiment 3

Disk Example: How to predict Precession.

Here is an example of the strange motion of spinning

objects, called precession. You experienced the Up
effects of precession when lifting the spinning wheel

The disk to the right spins at >500rpm about its own

axle, as shown in the picture. The axle-disk system
can pivot at the joint in the figure.

Heres how to predict the direction of precession of

the disk.
Down
To help you visualize the setup see this animation:
https://youtu.be/a5Sgqeur50M.

Heres a 3-step process for predicting direction of precession of ANY spinning object when a
torque is applied on it:

1. Identify the direction of the angular velocity vector of the spinning object using the
right-hand rule in the figure below. ( and the angular momentum vector
are in the same direction)

2. Find the direction of the torque applied to the spinning object using the right-hand

rule, as shown in the figure below. Remember that the moment arm R is a vector that points
from the pivot to the point of application of the force (gravity in this case).

8
 Experiment 3

3. The spinning object will move such that the TIP of the angular momentum (or ) vector
begins to move along the direction of the torque vector (see drawing below). After a
short period of time the final can be found by adding the initial to a small vector in the
direction of the torque.

EACH MEMBER of the group must (individually) use the 3

steps above to figure out if the disk precesses up, down, in
direction 1, or in direction 2. How many people in your group 1 Up
predicted precession in each of the following directions? (its
ok if you disagree here, youll discuss in the next step)

a.) Up:

b.) Down: 2

c.) Direction 1: Down

d.) Direction 2:

Compare each of your 3 steps with the other members of the group. Which of the 3 steps gave
your group the most trouble and why?

Come to a unanimous decision about which direction you think the disk will precess. Which
direction will the disk precess?

Now, you will test your prediction using the wheel. Before you do though, put a string through
the hole in the handle (where the string meets the handle is like the above joint/pivot). Hold the
string vertical and the wheel vertical, then let go of the wheel. What happens if the wheel is not
spinning?
9
 Experiment 3
A:

Describe what happens if the wheel is spinning in the same direction as the disk (from the
above example) and you let go. Were you right about its direction of precession?

A:

What happens if the wheel (or disk) is spinning in the other direction?

A:

For the rest of the lab you will be using a gyroscope. Get a gyroscope from your TF.
IMPORTANT: Be very careful with the gyroscope. When you are finished, put the
gyroscope back in the wooden box. If you drop it on the floor, it will be damaged,
and you will have to exchange the ball bearings!

The gyroscope comes with a gimbal mount. This mount allows the gyroscope to freely
rotate along two axes of rotation (horizontal and vertical). First, you will explore the
basic behavior of the gyroscope, as shown in the picture in the materials section.

Spin the gyroscope with the motor and place it on the mount. With the spinning disk
horizontal, touch the U-shaped gimbal and try rotating it around the vertical axis. What
happens? What do you think should happen?

A:

Now tilt the gyroscope so that the disk is not spinning horizontally. Touch the edge of the
U-shape gimbal and try rotating it around the vertical axis. What happens? Can you
explain what happens based on the angular velocity of and torque on the gyroscope?
(hint: pivot is now the center and the force is given by your hand)

A:

Wait for the gyroscope to stop spinning (this might take a minute or two). Spin it up
again to maximum speed using the motor, and place it on the mount. Attach the long rod
and orient the gyroscope such that the rod is neither vertical nor horizontal. Now the
gyroscope is clearly out of balance. Via the lever arm, gravity will cause a torque. This
torque sets the gyroscope into a rotation around the vertical axis, called precession. How

10
 Experiment 3
can you change the orientation of the gyroscope (the angle the rod makes with the
vertical) without pushing/pulling on the rod?

A:

Change the orientation of the gyroscope a little bit and watch what happens to the
precession speed. Change the orientation a few more times, observing what happens to
the precession speed after each orientation change. Does the precession speed depend
on the gyroscope orientation?

A:

What would happen if you attached a weight to the end of the lever arm? Why?

A:

Conclusion

What is the most important thing you learned in lab today?

What aspect of the lab was the most confusing to you today?

11