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1J40.25-Torque Wheel

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Video: Watch this demo

Instructor’s video

 

Description: Illustrates the effect of different radii in rotational torque.

Equipment:

  • Rotating apparatus
  • 2 Sets of weights
  • 1 table clamp
  • 2 S clamps
  • 1 long pole
  • 2 short poles

Setup Procedure:

  1. Setup the rods and clamps as shown in the picture.
  2. Attach the apparatus to the vertical rod.
  3. If specifically requested, a variation of this apparatus is available which has a large rotational inertia, though we do not recommend it.
    This variation requires two horiztonal supports at the same hight as can be seen here: Pic 1, Pic 2.
    This apparatus is very heavy, so make sure the table is not prone to falling over!

Demonstration Procedure:

  1. You may start off with two equal masses and show that the outer wheel experiences a larger torque.
  2. Add weights to the smaller wheel until the system reaches static equilibrium.
  3. You may try different radaii. There are a total of 4 radaii to choose from.