Rotational Kinematics

This page is all about rotation and it's relation to torque. This page is very much a work still in progress by sthevuthasan3.

The Main Idea

Rotational motion is defined as when an object moves about an axis in a circle versus translational motion which involves the object moving in a straight trajectory.

A Mathematical Model

Rotation can be characterized by its angular velocity and angular acceleration. The equations are listed below.

Angular velocity:

[math]\displaystyle{ \boldsymbol{{w}} = \frac{\boldsymbol{v}}{\boldsymbol{r}} }[/math] ,

where [math]\displaystyle{ {\boldsymbol{v}} }[/math] is the velocity of the object and [math]\displaystyle{ {\boldsymbol{r}} }[/math] is the radius of the circle of motion. It can also be represented as the change in angle over the distance traveled in the formula shown below:

[math]\displaystyle{ \boldsymbol{{w}} = \frac{\boldsymbol{d\theta}}{\boldsymbol{dt}} }[/math] , where [math]\displaystyle{ {\boldsymbol{d\theta}} }[/math] is the change in angle and [math]\displaystyle{ {\boldsymbol{dt}} }[/math] is the change in time.

Angular velocity always has a unit of radians (radians/sec or radians/hr). 

Angular acceleration is equal to alpha:

[math]\displaystyle{ \boldsymbol{{\alpha}} = \frac{\boldsymbol{a_t}}{\boldsymbol{r}} }[/math] ,

where [math]\displaystyle{ {\boldsymbol{a_t}} }[/math] is the tangential acceleration of the object and [math]\displaystyle{ {\boldsymbol{r}} }[/math] is the radius of the circle of motion.

Examples

Be sure to show all steps in your solution and include diagrams whenever possible

Simple

A simple example and application of the concept of rotation is the earth's rotation on it's axis. It rotates once every 24 hours. What is the angular velocity?

[math]\displaystyle{ \boldsymbol{{w}} = \frac{\boldsymbol{d\theta}}{\boldsymbol{dt}} }[/math]

[math]\displaystyle{ \boldsymbol{{w}} = \frac{\boldsymbol{2\pi}}{\boldsymbol{24}} }[/math]

[math]\displaystyle{ \boldsymbol{{w}} = \frac{\boldsymbol{\pi}}{\boldsymbol{12}} }[/math]

[math]\displaystyle{ \boldsymbol{{w}} = \frac{\boldsymbol{\pi}}{\boldsymbol{12}}*\frac{\boldsymbol{180}}{\boldsymbol{\pi}} = \boldsymbol{15^o}} }[/math]

Angular velocity can also be represented as change in angle (theta) over change in time. In this case, the earth rotates 2pi radians in 24 hours which reduces to pi/12 radians and that becomes 15 degrees.

Middling

A cylinder with a 2.5 ft radius is rotating at 120 rpm. Find the angular velocity in rad/sec and in degrees/sec. Find the linear velocity of a point on its rim in mph.

To find the solution of this problem, rpm (revolutions per minute) should be converted to radians/second. Following this, the linear velocity can be calculated by using the v=wr formula shown above. The angular velocity is 720 degrees per sec and the linear velocity is 21.42 mph.

Connectedness

Rotation is an extremely important aspect of dynamics (the study of moving objects) which plays a big role in biomechanics. Rotation relates to several important body parts such as the shoulder where there are two axis of rotation, the medial-lateral axis and the anterior-posterior axis. A study of the movement of the shoulder helps to treat medical conditions that may affect this area. Dynamics is also very important in many other disciples, including mechanical engineering and aerospace engineering.

See also

Are there related topics or categories in this wiki resource for the curious reader to explore? How does this topic fit into that context?

Further reading

Books, Articles or other print media on this topic

External links

Internet resources on this topic

References

[1] Biomechanics, Basic. “It Is Important When Learning about (n.d.): n. pag. Web.

[2] "Angular Velocity and Angular Acceleration." Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia (2005): n. pag. Web