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Beamwidth - Parabolic Antenna

The beam diameter or beam width of an electromagnetic beam is the diameter along any specified line that is perpendicular to the beam axis and intersects ... more

Saturated Adiabatic Lapse Rate

The lapse rate is defined as the rate at which atmospheric temperature decreases with increase in altitude. The terminology arises from the word lapse in ... more

Uniform Circular Motion position (Y - coordinate)

In physics, circular motion is a movement of an object along the circumference of a circle or rotation along a circular path. It can be uniform, with ... more

Uniform Circular Motion position (X - coordinate)

In physics, circular motion is a movement of an object along the circumference of a circle or rotation along a circular path. It can be uniform, with ... more

Worksheet 333

A typical small rescue helicopter, like the one in the Figure below, has four blades, each is 4.00 m long and has a mass of 50.0 kg. The blades can be approximated as thin rods that rotate about one end of an axis perpendicular to their length. The helicopter has a total loaded mass of 1000 kg. (a) Calculate the rotational kinetic energy in the blades when they rotate at 300 rpm. (b) Calculate the translational kinetic energy of the helicopter when it flies at 20.0 m/s, and compare it with the rotational energy in the blades. (c) To what height could the helicopter be raised if all of the rotational kinetic energy could be used to lift it?


The first image shows how helicopters store large amounts of rotational kinetic energy in their blades. This energy must be put into the blades before takeoff and maintained until the end of the flight. The engines do not have enough power to simultaneously provide lift and put significant rotational energy into the blades.
The second image shows a helicopter from the Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service. Over 50,000 lives have been saved since its operations beginning in 1973. Here, a water rescue operation is shown. (credit: 111 Emergency, Flickr)

Strategy

Rotational and translational kinetic energies can be calculated from their definitions. The last part of the problem relates to the idea that energy can change form, in this case from rotational kinetic energy to gravitational potential energy.

Solution for (a)

We must convert the angular velocity to radians per second and calculate the moment of inertia before we can find Er . The angular velocity ω for 1 r.p.m is

Angular velocity

and for 300 r.p.m

Multiplication

The moment of inertia of one blade will be that of a thin rod rotated about its end.

Moment of Inertia - Rod end

The total I is four times this moment of inertia, because there are four blades. Thus,

Multiplication

and so The rotational kinetic energy is

Rotational energy

Solution for (b)

Translational kinetic energy is defined as

Kinetic energy ( related to the object 's velocity )

To compare kinetic energies, we take the ratio of translational kinetic energy to rotational kinetic energy. This ratio is

Division

Solution for (c)

At the maximum height, all rotational kinetic energy will have been converted to gravitational energy. To find this height, we equate those two energies:

Potential energy

Discussion

The ratio of translational energy to rotational kinetic energy is only 0.380. This ratio tells us that most of the kinetic energy of the helicopter is in its spinning blades—something you probably would not suspect. The 53.7 m height to which the helicopter could be raised with the rotational kinetic energy is also impressive, again emphasizing the amount of rotational kinetic energy in the blades.

Reference : OpenStax College,College Physics. OpenStax College. 21 June 2012.
http://openstaxcollege.org/textbooks/college-physics
Creative Commons License : http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Electrical Impedances - In Series

Electrical impedance is the measure of the opposition that a circuit presents to a current when a voltage is applied. The term complex impedance may be ... more

Electrical Impedances - In Parallel

Electrical impedance is the measure of the opposition that a circuit presents to a current when a voltage is applied. The term complex impedance may be ... more

Worksheet 306

Calculate the force the biceps muscle must exert to hold the forearm and its load as shown in the figure below, and compare this force with the weight of the forearm plus its load. You may take the data in the figure to be accurate to three significant figures.


(a) The figure shows the forearm of a person holding a book. The biceps exert a force FB to support the weight of the forearm and the book. The triceps are assumed to be relaxed. (b) Here, you can view an approximately equivalent mechanical system with the pivot at the elbow joint

Strategy

There are four forces acting on the forearm and its load (the system of interest). The magnitude of the force of the biceps is FB, that of the elbow joint is FE, that of the weights of the forearm is wa , and its load is wb. Two of these are unknown FB, so that the first condition for equilibrium cannot by itself yield FB . But if we use the second condition and choose the pivot to be at the elbow, then the torque due to FE is zero, and the only unknown becomes FB .

Solution

The torques created by the weights are clockwise relative to the pivot, while the torque created by the biceps is counterclockwise; thus, the second condition for equilibrium (net τ = 0) becomes

Force (Newton's second law)
Torque
Force (Newton's second law)
Torque

Note that sin θ = 1 for all forces, since θ = 90º for all forces. This equation can easily be solved for FB in terms of known quantities,yielding. Entering the known values gives

Mechanical equilibrium - 3=3 Torque example

which yields

Torque
Addition

Now, the combined weight of the arm and its load is known, so that the ratio of the force exerted by the biceps to the total weight is

Division

Discussion

This means that the biceps muscle is exerting a force 7.38 times the weight supported.

Reference : OpenStax College,College Physics. OpenStax College. 21 June 2012.
http://openstaxcollege.org/textbooks/college-physics
Creative Commons License : http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

R-value (insulation) of a multi-layered installation - U.S. units

The R-value is a measure of thermal resistance, or ability of heat to transfer from hot to cold, through materials (such as insulation) and assemblies of ... more

Reflectance for unpolarised incident light

The Fresnel equations (or Fresnel conditions) describe the behaviour of light when moving between media of differing refractive indices. The reflection of ... more

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