ENGINEERING PHYSICS SECTION B1: RIGID BODIES, ROTATIONAL DYNAMICS

Moment of inertia is the name given to rotational inertia, the rotational

analogue for linear motion. Linear inertia is mass, or resistance to motion in a
straight line. Rotational inertia of a body is a measure of its resistance to motion
about some circular axis.

It appears in the relationships for the dynamics of rotational motion.

The moment of inertia must be specified with respect to a chosen axis of

rotation (see diagram).

For a point mass, the moment of inertia, I, is just the mass times the square of
perpendicular distance to the rotation axis, so

𝐼 (𝑘𝑔 𝑚2 ) = 𝑚𝑟 2

That point mass relationship

becomes the basis for all other
moments of inertia since any
object can be built up from a
collection of point masses. So, we
can write:

𝐼 = Σ𝑚𝑟 2

where Σ = the sum of all

the point masses at
their respective values of r

If required, you’ll be given the

relevant MoI for a particular body
– here’s a few examples. They’re
not too difficult to derive if you can
integrate a bit, but we don’t need
to here. Notice that M (mass) and
R for radius, and W or L for length
appear in them all.

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ENGINEERING PHYSICS SECTION B1: RIGID BODIES, ROTATIONAL DYNAMICS

Example:

I have four identical masses m arrayed about an origin. Mass 1 is located at (1,1) mass 2 is
located at (-1,1) mass 3 is located at (-1,-1) mass 4 is located at (1,-1)

Find the moment of inertia about the origin.

Clearly, the centre of mass is located at (0,0). Thus, each mass m is √2 units (r) from
the origin. 𝐼 = Σ𝑚𝑟 2 = 𝑚 𝑥 (√2 𝑠𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑) for each, so 𝐼 = 4 x m x 2 = 8m

Rotational vs Linear:

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑁𝑒𝑤𝑡𝑜𝑛′𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑎𝑤 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒

𝑑𝑣
𝛴𝐹 = 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 = 𝑚 = 𝑚𝑎
𝑑𝑡
is
𝑑𝜔
∑Γ = 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 = 𝐼 = 𝐼𝑎
𝑑𝑡

This from Khan Academy:

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/torque-angular-momentum/torque-
tutorial/v/rotational-version-of-newtons-second-law.

Examples:

For a fixed input of rotational kinetic energy: the skater approximates to a cylinder. By
increasing the radius from the axis of rotation, the moment of inertia increases thus slowing
down the speed of rotation. Alternatively, if the skater wants to increase the speed of

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ENGINEERING PHYSICS SECTION B1: RIGID BODIES, ROTATIONAL DYNAMICS

rotation, or angular velocity, then they must decrease the radius by bringing the segments of
the body closer to the axis of rotation thus decreasing the radius and moment of inertia.

Worked example:

A circular saw blade is in the form of a flat disc, mass 2kg and radius 40cm.
When supplied with a 2.4 kW electrical supply, assuming no loss of energy, what will its final
angular velocity be? Treat the blade as a solid cylinder.

Check the working with me.

Electrical energy input = angular kinetic energy output

1
2400 = 𝐼 𝜔2
2

where (see above) for a cylinder:

1
𝐼= 𝑀𝑅 2
2

from which
4 𝑥 2400
𝜔 = √ 2 𝑥 0.42 = 173.2 𝑟𝑎𝑑 𝑠 −1 ≅ 28 𝑟𝑒𝑣 𝑠 −1 = 1654 𝑟𝑝𝑚

(𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 2𝜋 𝑟𝑎𝑑 = 3600 = 1 𝑟𝑒𝑣)

This would make a very high-pitched squeal which we wouldn’t hear in practice, thus the
energy transfer is not efficient.

If the actual angular velocity achieved was 75 rad s-1, what is the efficiency of the motor?

If it takes 8.0s to achieve this angular velocity from rest, find its angular acceleration

𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑢𝑡
𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 =
𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛

4 𝑥 𝑃𝑜𝑢𝑡
𝑠𝑜 𝜔2 = 752 = 𝑠𝑜 𝑃𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 450 𝑊
2 𝑥 0.42

450
𝑒𝑓𝑓 = = 18.8%
2400

Δ𝜔 𝜔𝑓 − 𝜔𝑖 75 − 0 𝑟𝑝𝑚
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝛼 = = = = 9.38 𝑟𝑎𝑑 𝑠 −2 (𝑑𝑜𝑛′ 𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒)
Δ𝑡 𝑡 8 𝑠

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