- #1
Chaser
- 3
- 0
Hi,
I've been doing some research on rotating objects and moments of inertia, and I've run into a bit of a conundrum. It seems easy to do the math on how quickly an object is turning after a torque when that torque is around either the x, y, or z axis, but not when it is an arbitrary axis. In my experience, it seems that objects tend to reorient themselves around their principal axis when a torque is applied, but I don't know what this force is called, or how to calculate it.
The only way I could describe this would be if you had a plate hanging from the ceiling by a thread attached to its center of mass, where the plate could rotate freely on the end of the thread. If a torque were applied around the thread on the plate, in my experience, it would align itself horizontally. Why, and what are the equations for this?
I've been doing some research on rotating objects and moments of inertia, and I've run into a bit of a conundrum. It seems easy to do the math on how quickly an object is turning after a torque when that torque is around either the x, y, or z axis, but not when it is an arbitrary axis. In my experience, it seems that objects tend to reorient themselves around their principal axis when a torque is applied, but I don't know what this force is called, or how to calculate it.
The only way I could describe this would be if you had a plate hanging from the ceiling by a thread attached to its center of mass, where the plate could rotate freely on the end of the thread. If a torque were applied around the thread on the plate, in my experience, it would align itself horizontally. Why, and what are the equations for this?