Physics Demo Number: 073

Approximate Run Time: 10 min

Moment of Inertia Illustrated with Mystery Batons

Demo Description

Have two students compete for maximum speed of rotation of his/her baton back and forth  about a horizontal axis passing through its center and perpendicular to the students' stomach.

 

Scientific Principles

  • Higher moment of inertia objects resist rotational motion changes more than smaller moment of inertia objects.

Equipment

  • A Red and a Blue baton.

 

Equipment Location

  • The red and blue batons are on [E-1-3] .


 

Instructions

The photo shows the batons ready for use.

One usually enlists the help of two students to try rotating each baton back and forth  about a horizontal axis passing through its center and perpendicular to the students' stomach.

One baton has its mass mostly near its ends, while the other has its mass concentrated mostly near its center.

Each baton has the same total mass.

Each baton has its center of mass at its geometric center.
  
Writeup created by David A. Burba
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