Power; Rotational Energy

Power
Rotational work, power, and kinetic energy.

Serway & Jewett 7.5, 10.4, 10.8

Recall:

s r
vt r

at r

f i t i
f i i t 1 2 t 2
2f i2 2

Power
Power is the rate at which work is done:

Average power = Work/time

units: 1 J/s =1 watt (W)

Instantaneous power: Average over an infinitesimal time dt,

displacement ds; the work is dW = F ds, and power is

dW
ds
P
F Fv
dt
dt

Rotational Work
A bit of work, dW, is done in turning a
nut through a tiny angle d :

dW F ds
( F sin ) ds
( F sin ) r d
d

So,

dW d

and so for a constant torque,

ds = rd

Power:

dW ( d )
d
P

dt
dt
dt
So,

(again, angular velocity must be expressed in radians/second).

Quiz
A power screwdriver is intended to provide a torque of 0.5 Nm
while turning at 120 revolutions per minute. The minimum power
needed from the motor will be about
A) 60W
B) 6 W
C) 1 W

Kinetic energy of a rotating rigid body:

Add up the kinetic energies of the particles:

K K i 12mi vi
i

but
so

vi ri

2
2
1
m
r

i i
2
i

K
1
2

K = I 2

vi

Quiz
A wheel is spun up to speed by a motor that produces
a constant power. It takes time t to reach an angular
velocity . Assuming negligible friction at the axle,
how long does it take to reach twice this angular
velocity?

a) 4t
b) 2 2t
c) 2t
d) 2t

Example
A computer hard drive has four 100-gram platters (disks),
10 cm in diameter.
(Uniform thin disk: I= M R2)

a) How much kinetic energy do they have at 7200 rpm?

b) How long does a 7-watt motor take to get the drive up
to speed?

Example: Big Ben, a tower clock in London has

an hour hand 2.7m long with a mass of 60kg
and a minute hand 4.5m long with a mass of
100kg. Calculate the rotational kinetic energy
of the two hands.
(I=1/3 ML2)

Big Ben

Quiz
A cone-shaped top is launched by winding a string of length
L around the top, and pulling with a constant force F. How
should the string be wound to do the greatest amount of
work on the top?
a) wind it around the thick end
b) wind it around the thin end
c) it doesnt matter how it is wound
d) not enough information

Summary
Power: P=dW/dt = F v
Rotation: dW = d P = K = I2
Suggested Problems:

Chapter 7, problems 35, 40a (5910W)

Chapter 10, problems 21.
(5th ed):
Chapter 7, problems 37, 47a
Chapter 10, problems 23.