List of moments of inertia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Page 1 of 5

List of moments of inertia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The following is a list of moments of inertia. Mass moments of inertia have units of dimension mass ×
length2. It is the rotational analogue to mass. It should not be confused with the second moment of area
(area moment of inertia), which is used in bending calculations.

The following moments of inertia assume constant density throughout the object, and the axis of rotation
is taken to be through the center of mass, unless otherwise specified.

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Description Figure Moment(s)

Point mass m at a distance r from the
axis of rotation. I = mr2
Two point masses, M and m, with
reduced mass µ and separated by a
distance, x.

Rod of length L and mass m [1]

(Axis of rotation at the end of the rod)

[1]
Rod of length L and mass m

Thin circular hoop of radius r and

mass m

Thin, solid disk of radius r and mass m

Thin cylindrical shell with open ends, [1]

of radius r and mass m

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[1]
Solid cylinder of radius r, height h and
mass m

[1][2]

Thick-walled cylindrical tube with

open ends, of inner radius r1, outer
radius r2, length h and mass m or when defining the normalized thickness
then

Sphere (hollow) of radius r and mass [1]

m

[1]
Ball (solid) of radius r and mass m

[3]

Right circular cone with radius r,

height h and mass m [3]

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About a diameter:
Torus of tube radius a, cross-sectional
radius b and mass m.
About the vertical axis:

Ellipsoid (solid) of semiaxes a, b, and

c with axis of rotation a and mass m

Thin rectangular plate of height h and

of width w and mass m
(Axis of rotation at the end of the
plate)

Thin rectangular plate of height h and [1]

of width w and mass m

Solid cuboid of height h, width w, and

depth d, and mass m

Solid cuboid of height D, width W, and

length L, and mass m with the longest
diagonal as the axis.

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Plane polygon with vertices , ,

, ..., and

mass m uniformly distributed on its

interior, rotating about an axis
perpendicular to the plane and passing
through the origin.

Infinite disk with mass normally

distributed on two axes around the axis
of rotation

(i.e.

Where : ρ(x,y) is the mass-density as

a function of x and y).

See also
■ Parallel axis theorem
■ Perpendicular axis theorem
■ List of area moments of inertia
■ List of moment of inertia tensors

References
1. ^ a b c d e f g h Raymond A. Serway (1986). Physics for Scientists and Engineers, second ed.. Saunders College
Publishing. p. 202. ISBN 0-03-004534-7.
2. ^ Classical Mechanics - Moment of inertia of a uniform hollow cylinder
(http://www.livephysics.com/problems-and-answers/classical-mechanics/find-moment-of-inertia-of-a-uniform
-hollow-cylinder.html) . LivePhysics.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
3. ^ a b Ferdinand P. Beer and E. Russell Johnston, Jr (1984). Vector Mechanics for Engineers, fourth ed..
McGraw-Hill. p. 911. ISBN 0-07-004389-2.
4. ^ a b Eric W. Weisstein. "Moment of Inertia —
Ring" (http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/MomentofInertiaRing.html) . Wolfram Research.
http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/MomentofInertiaRing.html. Retrieved 2010-03-25.
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Categories: Mechanics | Physics lists | Introductory physics

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