Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-course-of-the-year-1-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2019/section-b/6/solution

Definitions. The torque of a force about an origin is , where runs from that origin to the force's point of application. Its component about a fixed axis changes angular momentum about that axis. The moment of inertia about that axis is
where is perpendicular distance to the axis. It measures resistance to angular acceleration; for fixed-axis rigid rotation, . The units are for torque and for moment of inertia.
Mass and axial inertia. Slice the shaft perpendicular to its common axis. A slice of radius has mass and moment of inertia , using the moment of inertia of a uniform disc. Thus the axial moment of inertia of a solid of revolution uses the second and fourth powers of its radius:
For the tapered section, take from its narrow end toward its wide end, so for . Its contributions are
The two cylinders contribute and to mass, and and to moment of inertia. Adding the three sections gives
All slice rotation axes coincide with the shaft axis, so the moments add directly.
Frictional torque. The normal load on the narrow circular end is . With the stipulated uniform pressure, . A contact annulus of radius and width has area , normal force and tangential kinetic friction . Multiplying by its lever arm and integrating gives the uniform-pressure friction torque on a circular contact:
Here is the positive magnitude; its torque opposes the angular velocity.
Steady speed and stopping rotations. Mechanical power in rotation is . At steady angular velocity, the driving and frictional torques balance, so constant-power rotation against dry friction gives
Using and ,
Once the motor is removed, the speed-independent kinetic friction gives constant angular acceleration . Equivalently, the initial rotational kinetic energy is dissipated as frictional work. The stopping angle under constant resisting torque is therefore
The total angular displacement corresponds to
Hence the shaft completes
and then another of a rotation. Its stopping time is . Using the rounded value changes the fractional rotation slightly but leaves four complete rotations.

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