Dynamics of Rotating Rigid Body

A rigid body is a body in which the distance between any

two of its constituents particles is constant. Let us imagine
a rigid body divided into smaller particles whose masses
are m1 , m2 , m3 ............. and whose distances from the axis of
rotation are r1 , r2 , r3 ............... respectively. The moment of
inertia of this body I, is given by:
I  m r  m r  m r  .......... .   m i ri
2 2 2 2
1 1 2 2 3 3
• The moment of inertia of a point mass is equal to
the mass of the object times the square of the
object’s distance from the axis of rotation. The
unit of I is kgm2.
• It plays a role analogous to that of mass m in
translational motion but unlike mass which is
constant for a particular body, I depends on the
location and direction of axis of rotation as well as
on the way the mass of the body is distributed.
The farther a particle is from the axis of rotation,
the more it contributes to the moment of inertia.
 Some examples of moments of inertia of
bodies of mass m are shown below:
• (a) A uniform thin rod rotating about an axis
through its middle.
• m

• L/2 x dx
• For a uniform mass per unit length
m M

• dx L
 M
m 
L
dx I  m  x 2

L
2
M 2 M 2
I  2  x  dx  L
0
L  12
A uniform thin rod rotating about one end.

L
• When the same rod is rotating about one end,
the limits of integration change. That is,

L 3
M 2 ML
I   x dx 
0
L 3
A circular disk rotating through its centre

• The circular disk can be divided into small

rings with constant mass per unit area. We can
m
obtain the elemental mass as follows:
 m M

2 x dx  R 2

M
 m  2 x dx
 R2

I  m x   2
 R
2M 3 1
I   2 x dx  M R 2

0
R 2
Exercise
Show that for a sphere rotating through its centre, I is given
2
by M R 2
5
 Radius of Gyration
• The moment of inertia for all rotating bodies is
related to the radius of gyration by:
I  M k2
k is called the radius of gyration of the body about an axis.
1
For example , for a uniform circular disk , I  M R 2
2
1
 M k 2  M R2
2
1
k R
2
 Parallel Axes Theorem
If the moment of inertia of a rigid body IG about an axis
through its centre of mass G is known, the moment of
inertia of the body about an axis which is parallel to the
first axis can be determined from the parallel axes
theorem : I

I = IG + Mh2 --------------- (i)

IG = Moment of inertia about the axis through the centre
of mass G.
h = perpendicular distance between the given axis and the
axis through the centre of mass.
 Example
• Calculate the rotational inertia (moment of
inertia) of a metre stick, with mass 0.56 kg
about an axis perpendicular to the stick and
located at the 20 cm mark (Treat the stick as a
thin rod).
• SOLUTION
• I = IG + mh2
• IG = Rotational inertia about the centre of mass
• M = mass of the stick , h = distance between
the centre of mass and the chosen rotation
axis.
• The centre of the mass is at the centre of the
metre stick, this implies that:
• h = 0.50 m – 0.20 m = 0.30 m
•
1 1
I 
• G 12 M L2
 0 . 56 kg 1 . 0 m 2

12
I G  4.67  10  2 kg m 2
• Therefore, the parallel axis theorem gives:

I  4.67  10 kg m  0.56 kg 0.30 m 

2 2 2

2
I  9.7  10 kg m 2
 Torque on a Rigid Body
• The rotating effect of a force on a body about
an axis is called its torque and the magnitude
depends on the force and the perpendicular
distance from the axis.
• The torque of a force about an axis is defined
as the product of the force and the
perpendicular distance from the component
of the force in the plane perpendicular to the
axis.
• In terms of angular acceleration α, the force F
causing rotation is,
dv d
F  ma  m  mr
dt dt
F  mr
• If the perpendicular distance is r, the net
torque on the mass is

  F r mr  I 2
 Examples
• 1. If a 32.0 Nm torque on a wheel causes
angular acceleration of 25.0 rads-2 , what is the
wheel’s rotational inertia?
• SOLUTION
• The rotational inertia
 32.0
I   1.28 kgm 2
 25.0
• 2. During the launch from a board, a diver’s
angular speed about his centre of mass
changes from zero to 6.20 rads-1 in 220 ms. His
rotational inertia about his centre of mass is
12.0 kgm2. During the launch, what are the
magnitudes of (a) his average angular
acceleration (b) the average external torque
on him from the board ?
 SOLUTION
• (a) Given that
0  0 rads
1
,  f  6.20 rads 1 , t  220  10 3 s
 f  0 6.20  0
   28 . 2 rads 2

t 220  10 3
• (b) If I is the rotational inertia of the diver,
then the magnitude of the torque on him is

  I  12.0 28.2 
  3.38  10 2 Nm
• 3. The length of a bicycle pedal arm is 0.152 m
and a downward force of 111 N is applied to
the pedal by the rider. What is the magnitude
of the torque about the pedal arm’s pivot
when the arm is at (a) 300 (b) 900 and (c) 1800
with the vertical?
 SOLUTION
• Using the fact that   r F sin 

• (a) For   300 ,  a  0.152 m 111 N   8.4 Nm

• (b) For   900 ,  b  0.152 m 111 N sin 900  17 Nm

• (c) For   1800 ,  c  0.152 m 111 N sin 1800  0

 Angular Momentum
• A rotating body has an angular momentum in
a way that a body under linear motion has
linear momentum mv = mωr
• Angular momentum is defined as the moment
of momentum. The angular momentum L of a
rotating body has the magnitude L = Iω
• Angular momentum = (
moment of inertia)( angular velocity)
• The greater the angular momentum of a spinning
object, the greater its tendency to spin. Like linear
momentum, angular momentum is a vector
quantity with direction as well as magnitude.
• Example
• A uniform solid sphere of radius 0.50 m and mass
15.0 kg turns counterclockwise about a vertical axis
through its centre. Find its angular momentum
when its angular speed is 3.0 rads-1
 SOLUTION
• The moment of inertia of the sphere about an
axis through its centre is
2 2
mr 2  15.0 0.50   1.50 kg m 2
2
I 
5 5

• The magnitude of the angular momentum is

L  I   1.503.0  4.50 kg m 2 s 1
•
• Since the sphere rotates counterclockwise
about the vertical axis, the angular momentum
is directed upward in the positive z direction.
 Kinetic Energy of a Rolling Object
• From the parallel axis theorem, a rolling object
of radius r has a moment of inertia

I  I G  mh 2

• where IG is the moment of inertia about the

centre of gravity. This can be used to obtain its
kinetic energy as it rolls on a horizontal plane.
•
=

That is, the K.E. of a rolling object is equal to the sum of the K.E. of rotation and K.E. of
translation.
 Examples
• 1. A cylinder of mass 10 kg rolls without
slipping on a horizontal surface. At the instant
its centre of mass has a speed 10 m/s,
determine:
• (a) the translational kinetic energy of its centre
of mass.
• (b) the rotational kinetic energy about its
centre.
• (c) its total energy.
SOLUTION
2. A uniform solid disk and a uniform ring are
placed side by side at the top of an inclined
plane of height h. If they are released from rest
and roll without slipping, which object reaches
the bottom first?
SOLUTION
. Since K.E. = P.E.

=
For a disk,

For a ring,
Since, , the disk reaches the bottom first.
3. A 1000 kg car has four 10 kg wheels. When
the car is moving, what fraction of its total
kinetic energy is due to rotation of the wheels
about their axles? Assume that the wheels have
the same rotational inertia as uniform disk of
the same mass and size.
 SOLUTION
Let M be the mass of the car( presumably
including the mass of the wheels ) and v be its
speed. Let I be the rotational inertia of one
wheel and be the angular speed of each wheel.
The kinetic energy of rotation is

The total kinetic energy is given by:

The fraction of the total energy that is due to
rotation is

For a uniform disk, . Since, the wheel roll

without sliding,
Thus, the numerator of the fraction is:

The fraction becomes:

 Acceleration of an object Rolling Down an
inclined plane

When an object rolls down an inclined plane,

the total kinetic energy is given by:
But ( circular disk or solid cylinder)
for the rolling objects. Hence,

From the diagram, P.E. lost down the plane is ,

where is the distance covered from rest on the
slope. For smooth inclined plane,
K.E. gained = P.E. lost
But

This is less than its acceleration if its slides

down.
 Example
1. (a) Determine the acceleration of the center
of mass of a uniform solid disk rolling down an
inclined plane making angle with the horizontal.
Compare this acceleration with that of a uniform
hoop.
(b) What is the minimum coefficient of
friction required to maintain pure rolling motion
for the disk?
 SOLUTION
(a)

The disk moves with of the acceleration of the

hoop.
(b)
 Equilibrium of a Rigid Body
The study of a rigid body in a state of equilibrium
under the action of many forces is referred to as
statics. Two conditions are required:
(i) The sum of all forces for translational
equilibrium must be zero.

(ii) The sum of all torques in relation to any axis

must be zero for rotational equilibrium.
 Steps taken in solving problems in statics

The steps to solving problems in statics can be

summarized as follows:
1. Draw a force diagram of the system.
2. Identify all forces and resolve them into two
rectangular components.
3. Set and
4. Set about any point
5. Solve the resulting equation.
 Example
A uniform plank of length 6.0 m and mass 30.0
kg rest horizontally across two horizontal bars of
a scaffold.The bars are 4.50 m apart, and 1.50 m
of the plank hangs over one side of the scaffold.
How far can a painter of mass 70 kg walk on the
overhanging part of the plank before it tips.
 SOLUTION

3.0 m Mg
X

d 1.50 m

n2
n1 mg
When the plank is on the verge of tipping about
P, the normal force n1 goes to zero.
Then summing torques about point P gives:

From the dimensions given on the free – body

diagram, d = 1.50 m
Thus, when the plank is about to tip,

= 0.643 m

2. A 15.0 m uniform ladder weighing 500 N rests against

a frictionless wall. The ladder makes an angle with the
horizontal.
(a) Find the horizontal and vertical forces the ground
exerts on the base of the ladder when a firefighter
whose weight is 800 N is 4.0 m from the bottom.
( b) If the ladder is just on the verge of slipping
when the firefighter is 9.0 m up, what is the
coefficient of static friction between the ladder
and ground?
 SOLUTION

nw

ng 500N
f 800 N
A
 Taking torques about an axis at the foot of the
ladder gives:

Solving the torque equation gives:

Substituting in gives
Solving the gives
(b) In this case, the torque equation gives:
Since
 SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION
When displaced from their equilibrium position,
certain bodies experience a restoring force which
causes them to undergo back and forth (i.e.
oscillatory) motion about their equilibrium position.
An important class of such motion is the simple
harmonic motion ( SHM) defined as an oscillatory
motion in which the acceleration is directly
proportional to the displacement from the
equilibrium position and is in opposite direction to the
displacement, that is,
-------------- ( 1)
 where is the constant of proportionality. A
familiar example of SHM is the oscillatory motion of
a simple pendulum which consists of a mass
suspended from a string.
Generally,
------------- (2)
Satisfies equation 1, where is called the phase and
is the phase at time A is the amplitude of the S.H.M
and is equal to the maximum displacement from the
equilibrium position.
 From equation (1), we have

From equation (2),

---------------(3)
when
when
 From equation (3), at maximum displacement
at equilibrium position
From equation (1), at equilibrium position when
at maximum displacement when

Examples
1. The maximum velocity and acceleration of a particle
executing simple harmonic motion about are equal to
and to respectively. At the acceleration of the particle
is . Write an expression for the velocity of the particle
as a function of time.
 SOLUTION
The general expressions for displacement, velocity and
acceleration for are:

At the above expression reduces to

At
At
Therefore we obtain and
The expression for the velocity of the particle is
2. The position of a Simple Harmonic Oscillator
( SHO) as a function of time is given by:

where is in seconds and in metres. Find (i) the

period and frequency and (ii) the velocity and
acceleration at
 SOLUTION
Given that

By comparing with
Now we find the expression for the velocity and acceleration
and we obtain:

And at we have

The expression for the acceleration is:

Then at the accelerations becomes

Examples of Motions that are Simple
Harmonic
A HELICAL SPRING
 Consider a helical spring with a mass
attached to one end while the other end is
fixed. When the mass is pulled down through a
distance from its equilibrium position A to a
new position B, a downward force required to
stretch the spring is directly proportional to the
displacement , that is,
 Equation (1) is usually referred to as Hooke’s
law. For the mass to remain stationary in
position B, an equal and opposite force must be
exerted on the mass by the spring. If the mass
is now released, the net upward force on the
mass or the restoring force is equal to. By
Newton’s second law
 is the resultant acceleration of the mass. The
negative sign before in equation (2) indicates
that the restoring force and the displacement
are in opposite direction.( Force upward,
displacement downward). From equation (2)

By comparing equation (3) with the general

equation of SHM, we have
We have that
But the period
And the frequency of vibration or the number
of vibration per unit time is
SIMPLE PENDULUM
 Suppose a ball of mass suspended by a light string of
length is displaced through an angle (corresponding
to a displacement along a circular arc) from the
vertical.
The restoring force,
If is small,
By applying Newton’s second law of motion to the
displaced body, we have
 In equation (3), is proportional to the
displacement which shows that the motion
is simple harmonic in nature.
Comparing with, we have

But
The corresponding frequency of the oscillation is
Oscillating Liquid Column of a U-tube
When a U-tube containing a fluid is slightly
displaced, the pressure causing the up and down
motion of the liquid in the tube is
; where
The force of motion of the entire fluid of mass m
Is due to this pressure. That is,

There is a negative sign before the expression

because and are oppositely directed.
But , where is the length of either column of the
tube.

But
The period ,
 Total Energy in a Simple Harmonic
Oscillation
Let us consider a body of mass oscillating on the end
of a massless spring. As we have seen earlier, the
restoring force is given by

The potential energy of a spring compressed or

stretched by an amount from equilibrium is given by

The total mechanical energy is therefore given by

where velocity of mass at from the
equilibrium position.
Since there are no frictional forces in SHM, the
total energy E remains constant. As the mass
oscillates back and forth, the total energy E
continuously changes from potential energy to
kinetic energy. A potential energy diagram will
help us visualize this problem.
Energy Exchange in SHM
The horizontal line corresponds to the constant
total energy. At the maximum displacements
i.e. , the velocity of the mass is zero, so all the
energy is potential energy and we have
We notice from equation (4) that the total energy of a
simple harmonic oscillator is proportional to the
square of the amplitude. Now at equilibrium position
( ), the potential energy is zero and the total energy is
purely kinetic energy. Therefore,

Where is the maximum velocity which occurs at the

equilibrium position, we have seen that
. Then equation (5) becomes
At intermediate points (points between the
two extremes) the total energy is partly kinetic
and partly potential. But since the total energy
is conserved, we have

Solving equation (6) for, we have

We notice from equation (7) that the velocity is
maximum when is equal to zero and is equal to
zero when is equal to .
 Examples
1. A body of mass hangs from a long spiral
spring. The mass is pulled down below its
equilibrium position and released. The period of
vibration is measured as Find
(a) The velocity of the body at the equilibrium
position
(b) The maximum acceleration
(c) By how much will the spring shorten if the
body is removed?
 SOLUTION
Using

(a) Velocity
(b) Acceleration
(c)
2. A body is executing SHM, when the
displacement is the acceleration is. When the
displacement is the speed is. Find the
amplitude of the motion.
 SOLUTION
at
By squaring and adding equation (1) and (2)
3. A mass of attached to a spring executes SHM
with an amplitude of. Its kinetic energy is
when its displacement is. Calculate
(i) The speed at this position
(ii) The spring constant
(iii) The total energy
(iv) The frequency of the motion.
 SOLUTION

(ii)
But
(iii) Elastic potential energy

Total energy

(iv) Frequency,
 ELASTICITY
Elasticity is one of the properties of solid. When
an external force is applied to a solid, its shape is
altered. When the external force is removed, the
restoring force brings the solid back to its
original shape and size. This property is called
the elasticity.
 TENSILE STRESS
Let us consider a uniform rod of a cross-
sectional area A that is at rest. If two equal and
opposite forces F normal to the cross-sectional
are applied such that the equilibrium status of
the rod is unaltered.
The tensile stress is the force per unit area
brought into play when the rod is distorted.
 TENSILE STRAIN
Suppose the rod of original length increases by
an amount . Experiment shows that for small
extension , the force is proportional to the
extension. That is,

Equation (2) is known as the Hooke’s law.

The tensile strain is defined as the ratio of the
elongation to the original length
Let us consider several rods, made of the same
materials, of different lengths and cross-
sectional areas. We apply the same force F to
these rods and determine the various extensions
. It is found that for a given force, the elongation
is directly proportional to the length of the rod.
 In other words, for a given force, the longer the
rod, the greater the elongation and the greater
the cross-sectional area the smaller the
elongation. Thus,

or
Where Y is a constant known as elastic modulus
or Young’s modulus.
The Young’s modulus of a material depends on
the nature of the material and independent of
the dimensions of the objects.
 Examples
1. A mass of 10 kg is suspended from the end of
a steel rod of length 2m and radius 1 mm.
What is the elongation of the rod beyond its
original length?
SOLUTION
The normal force or the tensile force applied to
cross-sectional area is the weight of the mass.
N=
The cross-sectional area

The tensile stress

The tensile strain,

2. Assume that Young’s modulus for bone is and
that bone will fracture if stress is greater than is
imposed on it.
(a) What is the maximum force that can be
exerted on the femur bone in the leg if it has
an effective diameter of 2.50 cm?
(b) If this much force is applied compressively,
by how much does the 25.0 cm long bone
shorten?
 SOLUTION
(a)

(b)
 Exercise
1. A 30.0 kg hammer strikes a steel spike 2.30
cm in diameter while moving with speed 20 m/s.
The hammer rebounds with speed 10 m/s after
0.110 s. What is the average strain in the spike
during the impact?
 Plot of stress versus strain

Stress 𝑆𝑛

Fig. 1 Strain 𝑒𝑙
The portion OB of the curve in Fig.1 is linear. In
this region, the material completely returns to
its original length when the applied stress is
removed. This region is known as elastic region
and the point B is the elastic limit. Beyond this
limit there occurs the yield point, it is the point
at which there is large increase in strain with
little or no change in stress. The material is said
to undergo plastic flow.
With further increase in strain the curve attains
a maximum at E, which represents the
maximum or ultimate strength of the material.
The material will rupture at point F and is known
as the breaking point.
 Elastic Energy in Deformed Materials

When a spring is compressed or stretched, work

is done by the applied force. This work is stored
in the spring in the form of elastic potential
energy which is released when the spring
returns to its equilibrium position. The
expression for the energy is given by:

Where k is the spring constant and x is the

displacement from the equilibrium position.
The applied force to the spring is given by
Hooke’s law:

is a tensile force applied to the spring. The

spring is a material under normal stress. The
expression for the tensile force is obtained from
equation (4). Thus,
The elongation in equation (2) is equivalent to x , the
displacement from the equilibrium position in equation
(5). Since and are equivalent, equation (2) is equated to
equation (5). Thus,
=
=

The elastic potential energy can be expressed in terms of

Y and .
 Example
1. A chick forces open its shell with an elastic
material called abduction whose elastic modulus is
about . If this piece of abduction is 3.0 mm thick and
has a cross-sectional area of , how much potential
energy does it store when compressed by 1.0 mm ?
 SOLUTION
The energy stored by the material is equal to the
work done in compressing it by 1.0 mm.
 Bulk Modulus
For a liquid or gas, the quantity we can possibly
use for the study of its elastic property is its
volume because we cannot conveniently take a
length as in the case of a solid. When a volume
is subjected to an external force, a bulk pressure
is generated on it. As the pressure increases,
the whole volume contracts. We can talk of bulk
strain which is defined as change in volume
divided by the original volume V.
That is, Bulk strain
Bulk modulus =

The minus sign is due to the fact that there is a

reduction in volume for an increase in pressure.
For a gas, Boyle’s law is obeyed. That is, PV =
constant, or

That is, pressure is equal to bulk modulus for a gas

at constant temperature. That is why high pressure
inflation of a ball makes it hard to compress i.e.
high bulk modulus. The velocity of sound waves in
a gas can be shown to be equal to
Where is the density.
Examples
1. How much pressure is needed to compress
the volume of iron block by 0.11 % ? ( Bulk
modulus of iron is )
 SOLUTION
Using

2. The deepest point in an ocean is in the trench

which is about 11 km deep. The pressure at this
depth is .
(a) Calculate the change in volume of carried
from the surface to this deepest point in the
Pacific ocean.
(b) The density of sea water at the surface is .
Calculate its density at the bottom. ( Bulk
modulus of water is
 SOLUTION
(a)

(b) The quantity of water with mass occupies

volume at the bottom
So its density

Exercise
When water freezes, it expands by about 9%.
What pressure increase would occur in an
automobile engine block if the water in it froze?
Bulk modulus of ice = )
 Modulus of Rigidity
When a deformation in shape of a solid is produced
without a change in volume, the deformation is
called a shear and the associated modulus is called
shear modulus or modulus of rigidity. A rigid body
with a very high shear modulus is a body whose
shape cannot be easily altered. When a force F is
applied to the top of a rectangular surface of a
block, the vertical surface is distorted to a
parallelogram. This is shown below.
Fig 1. A shearing Force on a Block
The shearing stress =

The shearing strain =

The shearing strain is sometimes defined as the
angular displacement between any two planes.
Modulus of rigidity , =
 Examples
1. An iron wire of diameter 0.8 cm and length 3
m is fixed at both ends so that it cannot expand
and then it is heated from to . Calculate the
force exerted on each end of the wire if and
 SOLUTION
The extension prevented is given by: and the
force generated is
2. A horizontal aluminium rod 4.8 cm in
diameter projects 5.3 cm from a wall. A 1200 kg
object is suspended from the end of the rod.
The shear modulus of aluminium is . Neglecting
the rod’s mass, calculate
(a) The shear stress on the rod and
(b) The vertical deflection of the end of the rod.
 SOLUTION
(a) Shear stress

(b) Modulus of rigidity,

L = protrusion of the rod = 5.3 cm
x = vertical deflection at its end
3. A child slides across a floor in a pair of rubber-
soled shoes. The frictional force acting on each
foot is 20N. The footprint area of each shoe sole
is , and the thickness of each sole is 5.0
mm.Calculate the horizontal distance by which
the upper and lower surfaces of each sole are
offset. The shear modulus of the rubber is .
 SOLUTION
From the defining equation for the shear
modulus,
4. A 2.0 m long cylindrical steel wire with a
cross-sectional diameter of 4.0 mm is placed
over a light frictionless pulley, with one end of
the wire connected to a 5.0 kg object and the
other end connected to a 3.0 kg object. By how
much does the wire stretch while the objects are
in motion? The Young’s modulus of steel is
 SOLUTION
Let the 3.0 kg mass be and the mass 5.0 kg be
Applying Newton’s second law to each mass
gives:
-----(1)
-----(2)
Where T is the tension in the wire.
Solving for T gives:
From the definition of Young’s modulus,
The elongation of the wire is
 Assignment
If the shear stress in steel exceeds , the steel
ruptures. Determine the shearing force
necessary to (a) shear a steel bolt 1.0 cm in
diameter and (b) punch a 1.0 cm diameter hole
in a steel plate 0.5 cm thick.
( ANS. , )
 VISCOSITY
When a body moves through a fluid, its motion
is retarded by a force of friction known as
viscosity. It is a type of frictional force that acts
between layers of fluid when it flows through a
medium, say pipe.
Fluid flow can be steady or unsteady. When the
fluid velocity, v at each point in space remains
constant in time, the flow is said to be steady
( laminar flow).
When the flow is steady ( laminar flow), the
velocities of the different layers increase from
the wall of the pipe to a maximum at the centre.
In other words, there is a velocity gradient across
the diameter of the pipe. As in solids, there is a
frictional force opposing the resulting relative
motion between the different layers. Unlike in
solids, the frictional force depends on the area A
of the liquid surface and velocity gradient.
According to Newton, the frictional force F is
given by:

--------(1)
Where is the constant of proportionality called
the coefficient of viscosity.
is the rate the velocity changes per unit distance
measured perpendicular to the direction of the
velocity.
 Example
1. A viscometer consists of two concentric
cylinders 10.20 cm and 10.60 cm in diameter. A
particular liquid fills the space between them to
a depth of 12.0 cm. The outer cylinder is fixed
and a torque of 0.024 Nm keeps the inner
cylinder turning at a steady rotational speed of
62 rev/min. What is the viscosity of the liquid?
 SOLUTION
Known that
In a steady (ordered) flow, Poiseuille stated that the
volume flowing per second depends on , the radius
r of the pipe and the pressure gradient . By using
method of dimensions, we obtained:
Volume per second
Where
It is possible to derive the above formula
theoretically.
The rate of flow of fluid in a cylindrical pipe is
given by:

where Q is the quantity of fluid that flows per

unit time, r is the radius of the pipe, is the
difference in fluid pressure existing at the ends
of the pipe, l is the length of the pipe and is the
coefficient of viscosity.
 Example
A capillary tube 15.0 cm long is to be used to
permit 60.0 of alcohol to flow through it under
a pressure difference of between its end.
Calculate the radius of the tube. The coefficient
of viscosity of alcohol is
 SOLUTION
The flow rate .
The pressure gradient

Using
Poiseuille’s formula is valid below a critical
velocity of the fluid. Above this velocity, the flow
is termed turbulent. In turbulent flow, the
particles at the same distance from the axis of
the pipe have different velocities, and the
velocities vary in magnitude and direction with
time and hence cannot be described by a simple
equation.
The conditions under which laminar flow occurs
were extensively studied by Reynolds and his
analysis showed that turbulence could be
expected if the Reynolds number, defined as
is greater than 2000
Where is the average velocity, r is radius of pipe
and is the density.
 Example
The aorta in human has a radius of 1.2 cm while
the average systolic blood velocity is about 60
cm/s. Assuming the viscosity of blood is
determine whether the flow in aorta is laminar
or turbulent (
 SOLUTION

Hence, the flow is turbulent.

 Exercise
1. An airplane has a mass of , and each wing has
an area of . During level flight, the pressure on
the lower wing surface is . Calculate the
pressure on the upper wing surface. ( )
 STOKE’S LAW
A body falling through a viscous fluid medium
experiences a frictional force. For example, let
us consider the case of a spherical ball dropping
under the influence of gravity or any other force
F whose motion is hindered by the resistance of
fluid through which it passes. The frictional force
, R according to Stokes, is proportional to the
velocity v of drop. That is,
The constant of proportionality k depends on
the shape of the body and the viscosity of the
fluid. For a sphere, calculation shows that
where r is the radius and is the coefficient of
viscosity of the fluid.
If F is the action force, then the resultant force,
ma is given by:
 i.e.
Initially, v increases because of the acceleration
a which in turn increases R. A stage is reached
when and the particle continues to move in the
direction of the force with a constant velocity
called the terminal velocity. This is given by:
-----------(3)
When as for a ball dropped into a vertical fluid
column,
-----------(4)
The above equation has to be corrected for the
upthrust of the fluid. According to Archimedes’
principle, the upthrust where is the mass of
the fluid displaced. Hence,
This simplifies to:
----(5)
Where is the density of the fluid. For a free fall
of an object from rest in a fluid, the equation of
motion is:
or

Which is a second order differential equation

whose solution is:
------------- (7)
Which tends to as t becomes large.
The graph below represents this equation.

t
 Examples
1. A small oil-drop falls with terminal velocity of
through air. Calculate the radius of oil drop.
What is the new terminal velocity for an oil drop
of half of this radius? ( viscosity of air = , density
of oil = , g = , neglecting density of air)
 SOLUTION
=
Since the density of air can be neglected.
=
The terminal velocity
2. A typical riverborne silt particle has a radius of
and a density of . The viscosity of water is .
Calculate the terminal speed with which such a
particle will settle to the bottom of a motionless
volume of water.
 SOLUTION
=

3. A tiny spherical glass of density falls through

oil ( ). In 100 s, it is observed to have reached 43
cm . Calculate the radius of the glass.
 SOLUTION
=
 SURFACE TENSION
When a liquid flows out very slowly from the tip of a
medicine dropper, it emerges not as a continuous
stream but a succession of drops. Also, if carefully
placed, a needle can be made to stay on water. We
have all experienced instances where a body can
touch a water surface without getting wet. All these
surface phenomenon suggests that a liquid surface
can be considered to be in a state of stress or
tension and thus acts like some sort of elastic skin
covering the liquid.
Surface tension is defined as the force F per unit length L that
acts across any line in a surface, tending to pull the surface open.

Fig. 1. A slider at the end of a soap bubble

For example, surface tension can be
demonstrated by placing a slider s of weight w
at the end of a soap film as shown in the figure
above. From our knowledge of statics, the slide
can be kept in equilibrium only if there is some
upward force provided by the film. This force
due to the soap film is its surface tension . In this
case, the upward force is since there are two
surfaces.
 Example
The surface tension of a liquid can be
determined by measuring the force F needed to
just lift a circular platinum ring of radius r from
the surface of the liquid.
(i) Find the expression for in terms of F and r.
(ii) At , if and , calculate for the tested liquid.
 SOLUTION
(i)
or
But L in this case is , hence

(ii)
Pressure Difference across a Soap Bubble

A soap bubble consists of two spherical surface

films very close together with a liquid in
between. If we isolate one half-bubble, we
obtain a simple relation between the surface
tension and the pressure difference between
inside and outside surfaces.
Half Soap Bubble in Equilibrium
The effective area of the half-bubble over which
there is net pressure is , the area of the shaded
circle. The force due to the pressure difference is
which for equilibrium ,must be balanced by the
force due to surface tension of two surfaces,
that is
 -----------(1)
For an air bubble inside a liquid, there is only one
surface. Hence,
------------(2)
This is the excess pressure inside the bubble over
the external pressure. As the excess pressure gets
smaller, the bubble gets bigger.
 Examples
1. Air is introduced through a nozzle into a tank
of water to form a stream of bubbles. If the
bubbles have a diameter of 2 mm, calculate how
much pressure of the air at the top of the nozzle
must exceed that of the surrounding water.
Assume that the surface tension between air
and water is .
 SOLUTION
Surface tension ,
Radius of bubble, R = 1 mm =
Using
2. A soap bubble 50 mm in diameter contains a
pressure ( in excess of atmospheric pressure) of
2 bar. Calculate the surface tension in the soap
film.
 SOLUTION
Radius of soap bubble = 25 mm = 0.025 m
2 bar =
Pressure inside a soap bubble and surface
tension are related by:
 Exercise
Calculate the pressure inside a water droplet
having diameter 0.5 mm at , if the outside
pressure is and the surface tension of water at
that temperature is
 SURFACE CURVATURES
Surface tension is a mutual property of two
materials that share a common surface. When a
liquid is inside a container, the forces that keep
the surface in equilibrium are as shown below:
 𝛾𝑆𝐴

A
-------
𝜃 -------
𝛾𝐿𝐴- - -
----------
𝛾𝑆𝐿

Fig.2: Forces acting at point of contact

Where
– surface tension on solid- air film
– surface tension on solid- liquid film
– surface tension on liquid – air film
– angle of contact
A is the force of attraction between the isolated
portion of the surfaces at their junction and the
wall of the solid.
A is called the force of adhesion. For
equilibrium,

The adhesive force A =

Also,

That is, the curvature of the surface of a liquid

near a solid wall depends on the difference
between and .
(i) If as in the case of water in glass, is positive,
or is between and . Such a liquid wets glass.
(ii) If as in the case of mercury in glass, is
negative,or is between and . Such a liquid does
not wet glass.

(iii) If as in the case of water in a silver

container, or is .
 CAPILLARITY

Fig.3 Capillarity rise in (a) and capillarity depression

in (b)
When a tube of small radius, open at both ends,
is placed in a liquid, the liquid is observed to rise
above the level of the surrounding liquid if the
wets glass. It falls below the liquid level if the
liquid does not wet the glass. These are
illustrated in Fig.3. This phenomenon is known
as capillarity and the tube having a small
diameter is known as capillary tube.
The actual height to which the liquid rise in the
capillary tube depends on:
(a) the radius of the capillary tube
(b) the nature of the liquid
(c) The contact angle
If the liquid has the density and makes the
contact angle with the tube as shown in Fig.3a,
then the liquid will rise to a height h in a capillary
tube of radius r.
The surface tension acts at an angle around the
circle. From the equation defining surface
tension, . In this case, . Hence the magnitude of
the vertical component of F is . This vertical
component of force F is balanced by the weight
of the fluid in the column, whose volume V is .
Therefore,
Equation(1) shows that h varies directly as and
inversely as r. For a given liquid, the height h will
increase,the narrower the capillary tube. If the liquid
does not wet the glass such as the case shown in
Fig.3a, the contact angle is greater than . The cosine
of the angle in equation(1) yields a negative value.
This means that the liquid is depressed below
the level in the container. Capillarity action can
be used to explain a lot of phenomenon in
nature such as the rise of sap in trees and the
rise of water through the soil.
 Example
When a glass tube is placed in a container of
ethyl alcohol, the liquid rises 3.4 mm up the
tube. Calculate the diameter of the tube. ( )
solution
Using
But
If we assume