In the rim-mass pulley coupled to a hanging mass, the printed figure shows the smaller pulley fixed overhead, and the mechanical string leaves the right-hand tangent of the larger pulley. Let increase counterclockwise from the downward vertical to the radius carrying . Then the hanging mass moves downward by . The string is taken to grip the rim without slipping. Its tension must be solved dynamically, rather than set equal to during motion.
The kinetic energy and potential energy areThe Euler-Lagrange equation and the condition for equilibrium areOne can also eliminate the tension from and . For , the solution with is stable; the other solution in a full turn is unstable.
