Moment of inertia and its physical significance Moment of inertia(I):-The moment of inertia of a rigid body about a given axis

of rotation is the sum of the products of masses of the various particles and squares of their respective perpendicular distances from the axis of rotation.
2 Mathematically: I m r m2 r2 ...... mn rn mi ri 2 1 1 2 2 i 1 in

SI unit of moment of inertia is kg m . MI corresponding to mass of the body. However, it depends on shape & size of the body and also on position and configuration of the axis of rotation. For example consider a rigid body with continuous distribution of mass. Kinetic Energy of its ith element mass will be-

1 ki mi vi 2 2 Here vi ri
ki 1 mi ri 2 2 2

linear velocity then

Total kinetic energy of rigid body will be n 1 n K ki (mi ri 2 2 ) 2 1 1 Here n is number of particle and is angular velocity which is same for all particle. So we can also write it as-

1 2 n 2 ( m r ) i i K2 1
Here by the definition of moment of inertia

I mi ri 2
1

and

1 2 I 2

Radius of gyration (K).It is defined as the distance of a point from the axis of rotation at which, if whole mass of the body were concentrated, the moment of inertia of the body would be same as with the actual distribution of mass of the body. Mathematically

r12 r2 2 r32 .... rn 2 K = rms distance of particles from the axis of rotation. n
SI unit of gyration is m. Note that the moment of inertia of a body about a given axis is equal to the product of mass of the body and squares of its radius of gyration about that axis i.e. I=M . Physical significance of moment of inertia:In linear motion, force acting on a body is, Force = (mass) x( linear acceleration) i.e. F= ma The rotational motion, torque acting on the body is, Torque = moment of inertia x angular acceleration =I To set the body into linear motion, a force must be applied on it. In a similar way,to set a body into rotational motion, a torque must be applied on it. Thus torque is a quantity in rotational motion, analogous to the force in translational, motion. Linear acceleration is the rate of change of linear velocity and angular acceleration is the rate of change of angular velocity. Therefore, linear, acceleration and angular acceleration are analogous. Comparing equation shows that the I moment of inertia is a quantity in rotational motion analogous to mass in translational motion. In linear motion, mass represent inertia of body. i.e. the tendency to maintain state of rest or of uniform motion, or to oppose the change in its state of rotational motion. The moment of inertia in rotational motion, plays same role as inertial in linear motion. The tendency of a body to oppose any changes in its state of rotation. It is also, known as rotational inertia: This is the physical significance of moment of inertia.

Que 1: A disc of metal is melted and recast in the form of solid sphere. What will happen to the moment of inertia about a vertical axis passing through the centre ?
Answer:- Moment of inertia will decrease, because

Id

2 2 1 2 mr and I s mr 5 2

the radius of sphere formed on recasting the disc will also decrease.

Que 2: Calculate radius of gyration of a cylindrical rod of mass m and length L about an axis of rotation perpendicular to its length and passing through the centre.

Answer:- K=? , mass= m , length=L Moment of inertia of the rod about an axis perpendicular to its length and passing through the centre is-

mL2 2 I and also I mK So 12 mL2 mK 12

2

L 12