seegongsik
Saved words
Dynamics

Rotation Has Kinetic Energy Too, ½Iω²

Rotational KE ½Iω², torque work W=Mθ (P=Mω), rolling KE=½mv²(1+β), energy conservation mgh=½mv²(1+β), finish speed by shape

A spinning body holds energy too — the rotational kinetic energy ½Iω². The work a torque does, W = Mθ, changes this energy, and a rolling body carries both translation ½mv² and rotation ½Iω² at once.

Rotation has kinetic energy too — KE = ½ I ω². It is the same form as ½mv² with mass m replaced by I and speed v by ω. Raise ω and the KE grows with ω squared.

Just as work was W = F d in straight-line motion, in rotation the work a torque does turning through an angle θ is W = M θ. Drag θ and the work piles up in proportion; the power is P = M ω.

A rolling body carries two kinetic energies at once — the center's translation ½mv² and the spin's rotation ½Iω². For rolling, ω = vr makes the rotational part ½βmv², so the total KE = ½mv²(1+β).

Rolling down a ramp, the potential energy mgh converts entirely to rolling kinetic energy ½mv²(1+β). But part of it goes into spin, so from the same height the finish speed is slower than just sliding. Drag h.

So even starting from the same height, different shapes finish at different speeds — v = √(2gh(1+β)). The sphere, with small β losing the least energy to spin, is fastest, and the hoop is slowest. Pick a shape to compare.

In PracticeTo sum up, rotation can be solved with energy too. The rotational kinetic energy is KE = ½ I ω², the work a torque does is W = M θ, and the power is P = M ω. A rolling body carries both translation ½mv² and rotation ½Iω², so the total KE = ½mv²(1+β), and on a ramp the energy is conserved as mgh = ½mv²(1+β), giving the finish speed v = √(2gh(1+β)) — which is why the small-β sphere is fastest. That completes the big picture of dynamics. We learned straight-line motion (position, velocity, acceleration; ΣF=ma; work, energy, momentum) and then carried every one of those ideas over to rotation one letter at a time — x→θ, v→ω, a→α, m→I, F→M, p→L, ½mv²→½Iω². From particle to rigid body, from kinematics to kinetics, from force to energy — the same laws simply return wearing a different face.
Dynamics
Was this helpful? Support seegongsik