PHY 5246: Theoretical Dynamics, Fall 2015

Assignment # 10, Solutions

1 Graded Problems
Problem 1
First we calculate the moments of inertia:
 2
b2

a
x3 I1 = I2 = m + ,
4 12
~ω I3 =
ma2
.
2
a (1.a)
The torque is zero! This can be seen in several ways: for
b/2 α instance, from the definition of the torque and the force
of gravity Fa = ma g we can see
X X
N= ra × Fa = ma ra × g.
x2
CM a a

Here ra is defined with respect to the center of mass

since that is the axis about which we want to calculate
~
the torque. However, since the center of mass vector R
is defined such that
x1 P
ma ra
R = Pa = 0,
a ma
P
we see that a ma ra = 0 and so N = 0.

(1.b)
Euler’s equations are
( I ω̇ − (I − I )ω ω = 0
1 1 1 3 2 3
I1 ω̇2 − (I3 − I1 )ω3 ω1 = 0
I3 ω̇3 = 0
( ω̇ − I1 −I3 ω ω = 0
1 I1 3 2
I1 −I3
ω̇2 + I1
ω 3 ω1 = 0
ω̇3 = 0
The last equation implies ω3 is constant, and is just the projection of ω
~ onto the x3 axis-
ωb
ω3 = ω cos α = √ .
b2 + 4a2
Now to solve for ω1 and ω2 , we can rewrite the first two equations as
(
ω̇1 + Ωω2 = 0 I3 − I1
, where Ω = ω3 .
ω̇2 − Ωω1 = 0 I1

Taking another derivative of the first equation with respect to time and inserting the second
equation we find
ω̈1 + Ωω̇2 = 0 −→ ω̈1 + Ω2 ω1 = 0,
which has solution ω1 (t) = A cos(ωt + δ), so that means ω2 (t) = A sin(Ωt + δ). Since the phase is
the same we can set δ = 0 and our full solution is
( ω (t) = A cos(Ωt)
1
ω2 (t) = A sin(Ωt)
ω3 (t) = √b2ωb
+4a2

Thus we have that ω

~ precesses in a cone around x3 with angular
frequency
x3
I3 − I1
~ω Ω = ω3
I1
 2 
ma2 b2
2
− m a4 + 12 ωb
α = ma2 mb2
√
4
+ 12
b2
+ 4a2
2 2
ω2 3a − b ωb
x2 = 2 2
√
3a + b b + 4a2
2

ω1 This also tells us what our constant A should be:

2aω
x1 A = ω1 (0) = ω sin α = √ .
b2 + 4a2

(1.c)
The kinetic energy will be
(CM ) (about CM )
T = Ttrans + Trot ,
with
(CM ) 1
Ttrans = m(V0 − gt)2
2
(about CM ) 1 1
Trot = I1 (ω12 + ω22) + I3 ω32
2  2
1 a2 b2 1 ma2 2
= m + A2 + ω
2 4 12 2 2 3
 2
b2 4a2 ω 2 1 ma2 ω 2b2

1 a
= m + +
2 4 12 b2 + 4a2 2 2 b2 + 4a2
a2 ω 2 b2 b2
 
1 2
= m a + +
2 b2 + 4a2 3 2
2 2
 
1 ma ω 5
= 2 2
a2 + b2 .
2 b + 4a 6
Adding these together we find
1 ma2 ω 2
 
1 2 2 5 2
T = m(V0 − gt) + 2 a + b .
2 2 b + 4a2 6

Problem 2
For vertical motion, we have θ = 0 so that ω3 = φ̇ + ψ̇ and
p φ = p ψ = I3 ω 3 .
The energy is simply
1
E = I3 ω32 + Mgh,
2
and since ω3 is constant we can define the conserved quantity
1
E ′ = Mgh = E − I3 ω32 .
2
In order to study the nature of the θ = 0 equilibrium position, we now study how the system
(top) behaves when it’s displaced by an angle θ. For an arbitrary displacement about θ = 0 we
can then write:
1 1 1
E′ = I1 ω12 + I2 ω22 + I3 ω32 + Mgh cos θ
2 2 2
1 2 p2ψ (1 − cos θ)2
= I1 θ̇ + + Mgh cos θ = Mgh,
2 2I1 sin2 θ
where I1 , I2 , and I3 are the principal moments of inertia relative to the a body system with origin
at the (fixed) tip of the top, and we have used that I1 = I2 , as well as
ω1 = φ̇ sin θ sin ψ + θ̇ cos ψ ,
ω2 = φ̇ sin θ cos ψ − θ̇ sin ψ .
Also, we have expressed the φ̇ component of the angular velocity as a function of the pφ and pψ
constants of the motion, which, for the initial conditions given in this problem, satisfy pφ = pψ =
I3 ω3 (see initial discussion):
pφ − pψ cos θ pψ (1 − cos θ)
φ̇ = 2 = .
I1 sin θ I1 sin2 θ
We can then recast the energy equation in the form,
1 2 p2ψ (1 − cos θ)2
Mgh(1 − cos θ) = I1 θ̇ + ,
2 2I1 sin2 θ
which is well defined even at θ = 0. Using the change of variables, z = cos θ (so that ż = − sin θθ̇)
and solving the above equation for ż we get:
1 ż 2 p2ψ (1 − cos θ)2
Mgh(1 − z) = I1 +
2 sin2 θ 2I1 sin2 θ
1 ż 2 2
pψ (1 − z)2
= I1 +
2 1 − z 2 2I1 (1 − z 2 )
(1 − z)2 
→ ż 2 = 2MghI1 (1 + z) − I32 ω32 .

2
I1
 r=2
r=1
400 r=0.6

200
f(z)

-200

-400
z’3 z3
-1 0 1 2 3 4
z

Figure 1: A plot of the function f (z) given below. For simplicity we have set the parameter
ξ = 150 and given three values of the ratio r = ω32 /ωc2. Note that r = 1 is the critical case.

For clarity, let us rewrite the equation in the following form,

ż 2 ξ = (1 − z)2 [(1 + z) − 2r] ≡ f (z) ,

where r = ω32 /ωc2 and

2I12
ξ= ,
I32 ωc2
with critical frequency ωc given by,
2p
ωc ≡ MghI1 .
I3
The function f (z) is plotted in the figure for three values of r: r < 1, r = 1, and r > 1,
corresponding to three different values of ω3 : ω3 < ωc , ω3 = ωc , ω3 > ωc . The three zeros of the
function f (z) (solutions to ż 2 = 0) are values of z such that the motion is stationary (stable or
turning point), since they correspond to θ̇ = 0. We can see that the equation has two zeros at
z = 1 and a third zero at z = 2r − 1 such that,
• z > 1 (unphysical) corresponds to r > 1, i.e. ω3 > ωc ;

• z < 1 (physical) corresponds to r < 1, i.e. ω3 < ωc .

We can therefore describe the motion of the top as following:
• for ω3 ≥ ωc the top spins vertically (θ = 0 is the only allowed position;

• for ω3 < ωc the top spins nutating between θ = 0 and θ = arccos(2r − 1).
If the top is set to spin vertically (θ = 0) with ω3 ≥ ωc it will be stable, otherwise it will nutate. In
the presence of friction, even if the top is started vertically with ω3 > ωc , friction will eventually
reduce its angular velocity until it drops below ωc and the top starts nutating. When friction is
very low the top can spin vertically for a long time before nutations set in (case of a sleeping top).
Problem 3
The center of mass in the fixed coordinates is
CM = (l, l, 2l),
x3
~ω and for this setup we have
2l 1
~ = √ (1, 1, 2) · ω
ω
6
= ω · n̂, where
1
~
n̂ = √ (1, 1, 2).
L 6
CM
4l (a)
Since ω
~ is constant (in both the fixed frame and the body
frame since we have
   
x2
d~
ω d~ω
= .
dt f ixed dt body
From the symmetry of the problem we can tell that
x1 I1 = I2 6= I3 (symmetric top). We can calculate these
explicitly:
X 8
X
I1 = mα (yα2 + zα2 ) = m(yα2 + zα2 )
α α=1
2 2 2
= 8m(l + 4l ) = 40ml
X
I2 = mα (x2α + zα2 ) = 40ml2
α
X
I3 = mα (x2α + yα2 ) = 8m(l2 + l2 ) = 16ml2
α
X
I12 = − mα xα yα = m(l2 + l2 − l2 − l2 + l2 + l2 − l2 − l2 ) = 0
α

Where the other off-diagonal elements vanish similarly. Thus,

40ml2
 
0 0
Iˆ =  0 40ml2 0 
0 0 16ml2
Since the angular velocity is constant, this is not a force-free motion, since we know that the
angular velocity of a symmetric top in the absence of forces precesses about the fixed direction of
the angular momentum. Indeed the angular momentum is not constant in the fixed frame. We
have that:
~ body = I1 ω1 ê1 + I2 ω2 ê2 + I3 ω3 ê3
L
1
= √ ωml2 (40, 40, 32)
6
8
= √ ml2 ω(5, 5, 4) = constant.
6
See the figure for this vector. Therefore;
!
~
dL
=ω ~
~ × L,
dt
f ixed

~ is not constant in the fixed frame. In that this force tells us that L
and we see explicitly that L ~
precesses about the direction of ω
~ . We can also see that
~ · (ê3 × ω
L ~ · (−ω2 ê1 + ω1 ê2 ) = −(I1 − I2 )ω1 ω2 = 0.
~) = L

~ and ê3 precess about the direction of ω

So, both L ~ , keeping in the same plane with respect to
each other and with respect to ω
~.

(b)
We can use Euler’s equations, observing that in this frame ω̇1 = ω̇2 = ω̇3 = 0, giving

N1 = −(I2 − I3 )ω2 ω3
N2 = −(I3 − I1 )ω3 ω1
N3 = −(I1 − I2 )ω1 ω2

From this we find

2
N1 = −(40 − 16)ml2 ω 2 √ = −8ml2 ω 2
6
2
N2 = −(16 − 40)ml2 ω 2 √ = 8ml2 ω 2
6
N3 = 0
⇒N ~ = 8ml2 ω 2 (−1, 1, 0).
Problem 4
In this problem the body axes are the principal axes, and ω ~ can
move in the the body fixed frame. It’s easy to see that the plane is
x3 ~ω ~ will be constant
a symmetric top. Therefore, in absence of forces L
and ω~ will precess around it.
α Let us calculate the moments of inertia explicitly:
l/2 l/2
1 2l3 l
Z Z
l x2
I1 = I2 = ρ dx dy x2 = ρ 2
O −l/2 −l/2 3 8 2
2
ml
x1
=
12
Z l/2 l/2
ml2
Z
I3 = ρ dx dy (x2 + y 2 ) = .
−l/2 −l/2 6

Now at t = 0,
 
ω sin α ω sin α
~ =
ω √ , √ , ω cos α ,
2 2
and the angular momentum is
2
 
~ = (I1 ω1 , I2 ω2 , I3 ω3 ) = ml
L
ω sin α ω sin α
√ , √ , 2ω sin α .
12 2 2

The velocity with which ω ~ is (see discussion in class and in the text):
~ precesses about L

L
Ωpr = ,
I1
where
1/2
ml2 ω sin2 α sin2 α

L = (I1 ω12 + I2 ω22 + I3 ω32 )1/2 = + 2
+ cos α
6 8 8
ml2 ω
= (1 + 3 cos2 α)1/2 .
12
And so the frequency of precession is

(ml2 ω/12)(1 + 3 cos2 α)1/2

Ωpr = = ω(1 + 3 cos2 α)1/2 .
ml2 /12