Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Torque


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Torque is a measure of how much a force acting on an object causes that object to rotate. The object rotates about an axis, which we will call the pivot point, and will label 'O'. We will call the force 'F'. The distance from the pivot point to the point where the force acts is called the moment arm, and is denoted by 'r'. Note that this distance, 'r', is also a vector, and points from the axis of rotation to the point where the force acts.

Torque = r x F = r F sin(theta)
There may be more than one force acting on an object, and each of these forces may act on different point on the object. Then, each force will cause a torque. The net torque is the sum of the individual torques.
Rotational Equilibrium is analogous to translational equilibrium, where the sum of the forces are equal to zero. In rotational equilibrium, the sum of the torques is equal to zero. In other words, there is no net torque on the object.
The SI units of torque is a Newton-metre.

Angular Velocity

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Angular velocity is generally specified in radians per second (rad/s).
All points in a rigid object rotate with the same angular velocity.
An object such as a wheel rotates about a fixed axis either clockwise or counterclockwise.
The direction can be specified with a + or - sign.