Rotational motion of a rigid body with the system IP–Coach

Z. Gibová, O. Fričová, M. Kladivová, J. Kecer, M. Hutníková, M. Kovaľaková

Department of Physics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, Technical University of Košice Park Komenského 2, 04200 Košice, Slovakia

A correct understanding of basic physical quantities related to the rotational motion of a rigid body by undergraduates is important not only in mechanics but also for understanding of basic physical principles in other branches of physics. The rotational motion of a symmetric rigid body about an axis through its centre of mass and perpendicular to the Earth‘s surface can be examined in the experiment which is presented in this paper. An optical gate connected to the system IP-Coach makes it possible to record the angular displacement as a function of time from which the angular velocity and angular acceleration can be calculated at any instant of time. Using these kinematic dependences, the influence of the moment of inertia as well as the influence of resistance forces on the rotational motion of a rigid body can be evaluated. The proposed experiment can be included as a demonstration or laboratory experiment in the basic physics course in technical bachelor's degree programmes.