Mk-1 Centre of Mass Rod
Published: Thursday 09 March 2006 - Updated: Thursday 24 March 2011
Aim
To demonstrate that the motion of the centre of mass of a body in projectile motion is a parabola.
Apparatus
Centre of mass rod
Diagrams
Click on pictures to enlarge.
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Centre of Mass Rod Pic |
Centre of Mass Rod Diagram |
Description
The apparatus consists of a rod with unequal masses attached at each end. A battery operated light globe may be slid along the rod to coincide with the centre of mass.
The lecture room is darkened and the device is thrown across the lecture room. If the globe does not coincide with the c. of m. the resulting motion of the globe can be quite complicated. Repeating the experiment with the globe at the c. of m. results in a parabolic path being traced by the globe.