- #1
herschko
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Oops! That title should read constant *speed.*
1. An object with mass m starts at rest at height h. It slides down a frictionless incline. At the bottom, it enters a vertical circular loop-the-loop of radius r. It just touches the track at the top of the loop. What is h in terms of m and r?
2. a = v^2/r, conservation of energy, etc.
3. This is of course a classic exercise. I have this question about the solution: The solutions determine the velocity at the top of the loop by using the equation a = v^2/r. My basic textbooks present this formula derived in the context of *uniform* circular motion. The speed is not constant here, is it? How is it valid to apply that formula here?
(BTW, I am not a student; I am revisiting basic physics here. I haven't taken a physics class in over thirty years.)
1. An object with mass m starts at rest at height h. It slides down a frictionless incline. At the bottom, it enters a vertical circular loop-the-loop of radius r. It just touches the track at the top of the loop. What is h in terms of m and r?
2. a = v^2/r, conservation of energy, etc.
3. This is of course a classic exercise. I have this question about the solution: The solutions determine the velocity at the top of the loop by using the equation a = v^2/r. My basic textbooks present this formula derived in the context of *uniform* circular motion. The speed is not constant here, is it? How is it valid to apply that formula here?
(BTW, I am not a student; I am revisiting basic physics here. I haven't taken a physics class in over thirty years.)
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