11. Torque

For more information about Professor Shankar’s book based on the lectures from this course, Fundamentals of Physics: Mechanics, Relativity, and Thermodynamics, visit http://bit.ly/1jFIqNu.

Fundamentals of Physics (PHYS 200)

This lecture is a continuation of an analogue to Newton’s law: τ= lα. While previous problems examined situations in which τ is not zero, this time the focus is on extreme cases in which there is no torque at all. If there is no torque, α is zero and the angular velocity is constant. The lecture starts with a simple example of a seesaw and moves on to discuss a collection of objects that are somehow subject to a variety of forces but remain in static equilibrium.

00:00 – Chapter 1. Static Equilibrium — Case of Zero-torque, Zero-angular Velocity
03:47 – Chapter 2. The Seesaw Example
12:02 – Chapter 3. The Case of a Rod Supported by Pivot on a Wall
21:04 – Chapter 4. The Case of a Rod Supported by a Wire
29:08 – Chapter 5. The Case of the Leaning Ladder
40:05 – Chapter 6. Rigid Body Dynamics in 3D
01:04:46 – Chapter 7. The Case of a Gyroscope

This course was recorded in Fall 2006.