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Chapter 11: Problem 9

Why is it easier to balance a basketball on your finger if it's spinning?

Short Answer

Expert verified
A spinning basketball is easier to balance on your finger as it has significant angular momentum due to its spin, and due to the conservation of angular momentum, the ball resists changes to its axis of rotation and forces pull it back towards a stable balance position.

Step by step solution

01

Explain Rotational Motion

Rotational motion is a motion of an object in a path that is circular about a given point. A good example of this is the spinning basketball. When the basketball spins, it creates a force that keeps the rotation in motion.
02

Discuss Angular Momentum

Angular momentum is a measure for the amount of rotation an object has. The faster an object spins, the more angular momentum it has. In our case, when a basketball spins fast, it has significant angular momentum.
03

Explain the Principle of Conservation of Angular Momentum

The principle of conservation of angular momentum states that if there is no external torque acting on an object, its angular momentum remains constant. A spinning basketball is trying to maintain its state of motion, that is its spinning motion.
04

Relate Angular Momentum and Balance

A spinning basketball on your finger is trying to keep its axis of rotation stable. This means it wants to keep spinning around an axis that goes through its center and your finger. Due to conservation of angular momentum, the ball will resist changes to its axis of rotation - so even slight tilting away from the vertical axis results in forces that pull it back towards a stable position. Hence, it is easier to balance a spinning basketball on your finger.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

A skater has rotational inertia \(3.8 \mathrm{~kg} \cdot \mathrm{m}^{2}\) with her fists held to her chest and \(5.3 \mathrm{~kg} \cdot \mathrm{m}^{2}\) with her arms outstretched. The skater is spinning at \(3.0\) rev/s while holding a \(1.8-\mathrm{kg}\) weight in each outstretched hand; the weights are \(68 \mathrm{~cm}\) from her rotation axis. If she pulls her hands in to her chest, so they're essentially on her rotation axis, how fast will she be spinning?

The dot product of two vectors is one-third the magnitude of their cross product. What's the angle between the two vectors?

A \(4.3-\mathrm{cm}\)-diameter golf ball has mass \(45 \mathrm{~g}\) and is spinning at \(3000 \mathrm{rpm}\). Treating the golf ball as a uniform solid sphere, what's its angular momentum?

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Tornadoes in the northern hemisphere rotate counterclockwise as viewed from above. A far-fetched idea suggests that driving on the right side of the road may increase the frequency of tornadoes. Does this idea have any merit? Explain in terms of the angular momentum imparted to the air as two cars pass going in opposite directions.
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