To Teach a Monkey (beta)

Rigid Body Mechanics/Torque

Rotational Kinematics

Angular Displacement

One revolution = 360deg360\deg = 2π2\pi rad rad

Because how radians are just ratios of the circumference of a circle, you can write the arc length of the circle as

s=rθs = r \theta

where s is the arc length and r is the radius

Angular Velocity

Written as ω\omega

Angular displacement over time

This is not a measure of meters per second, as that is the tangential velocity

You can calculate tangential velocity with ωr\omega \cdot r

Angular Acceleration

The rate of change of the angular velocity, measured in radrad s2s^{-2}

Kinematic Formulas

You can use all of the linear kinematic equations with angular

Δθ=ωf+ωi2+t\Delta\theta = \frac{\omega_f + \omega_i}{2} + t

ωf=ωi+αt\omega_f = \omega_i + \alpha t

Δθ=ωit+12αt2\Delta\theta = \omega_it+\frac{1}{2}\alpha t^2

ωf2=ωi2+2αΔθ\omega_f^2 = \omega_i^2 + 2 \alpha \Delta \theta

Torque

Given a force F acting some distance r from a point of rotation at an angle, the torque is

τ=Frsinθ\tau =Frsin\theta

Center of Mass

The center of where all the mass is concentrated

Center of Gravity

The center of the force of gravity

Moment of Inertia

The measure of angular inertia or the resistance to change

The moment of inertia for a single point is I=mr2I = mr^2

The moment of inertia for a system is I=imiri2I = \sum_i m_ir_i^2

Rotational Momentum

L=IωL = I\omega

Just like translational inertia, this must always be conserved

This is typically used in questions where the radius of a point changes

Rotational Kinetic Energy

Ek=12Iω2=L22IE_k = \frac{1}{2}I\omega^2 = \frac{L^2}{2I}

Where L is the rotational momentum