Free Rotation of a Rectangular Parallelepiped

zweidimensionales bewegtes Bild

Only the axes of maximum and minimum moment of inertia are free axes of rotation around which a body can rotate stably without mechanical support. Attempts at rotation around other axes lead to wobbling, i.e. unstable rotation. A piece of styrofoam in the form of a parallelepiped (like a cigar box) is thrown into the air while giving it a spin. In order to watch the motion, opposing surfaces have been marked with different colors.

Object Details

• Alternative title: Freie Rotation eines quaderförmigen Körpers
• Location: Hannover TIB
• Extent: 14MB, 00:01:10:13 (unknown)
• Language: Englisch
• Notes: Audiovisuelles Material

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: The Physics Experiments of Robert Wichard Pohl (1884 - 1976) ; (Jan. 2004)

Classification and Topics

• Keyword: rotation ; free axis ; mechanics ; physics

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): IWF (Göttingen)
• (when): 2004-01-01
• Contributor: Lüders, Klaus ; Pohl, Robert Otto ; Beuermann, Gustav ; Samwer, Konrad ; Stickan, Walter (Redaktion) ; Lechner, Kuno (Kamera) ; Gerstenberg, Thomas (Ton) ; Yousefpour, Abbas (Schnitt)

Further information

• DOI: 10.3203/IWF/C-14848eng
• Last update: 04.12.2024, 8:09 AM CET