Imagine a wheel with radius R of 0.34m and weight of 25
N that sits at rest against the bottom step of a staircase. You
try to raise this wheel one step up. The height of the step H
is 0.12m. You can either decide to lift the wheel up over a
distance H and put it down on the step, or try to rotate it
around the contact point with the step by pulling on it
horizontally with a force P.
a) If the pulling force is applied in the center of the wheel,
how big is P that will just make the wheel lose contact
with the ground?
b) If the pulling force is applied at the rim of the wheel,
how big is P that will just make the wheel lose contact
with the ground?
c) Discuss the previous two situations when the height of
the step equals the radius of the wheel.
l. Imagine a wheel with radius R of 0.34 m and weight of 25 N that sits at rest against the bottom step of a staircase. You try to raise this wheel one step up. The height of the step H is 0.12 m. You can either decide to lift the wheel up over a distance H and put it down on the step, or try to rotate it around the contact point with the step by pulling on it horizontally with a force P
a) If the pulling force is applied in the center of the wheel, how big is P that will just make the wheel lose contact
with the ground?
b) If the pulling force is applied at the rim of the wheel, how big is P that will just make the wheel lose contact with the ground?
c) Discuss the previous two situations when the height of the step equals the radius of the wheel.