Two identical rods, each with mass and length , are joined together to form something like a single-bladed fan.
The first rod stands perfectly upright, with one end fixed to the ground. Its other end serves as a pivot point for the second rod, which rotates counter-clockwise at a constant angular speed of thanks to a massless servomotor. is the instantaneous angle between the rotating rod and the horizontal, and gravity is in the downward vertical direction.
At what angle (in degrees between 0 and 90) is the magnitude of the net reaction force at the ground equal to the combined weight of the two rods, to 3 decimal places?
Note: There is also a reaction moment at the ground support, but we are only interested in the net reaction force.
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The above shows the external forces acting on the system (system consists of the two rods).
Since the direction of the net reaction force is not known, I've assumed it in terms of its x and y components, denoted by F x and F y respectively.
(Note that the reaction force at the hinge point is an internal force.)
The above shows the net acceleration of the system. (Since ω is constant, α is zero.)
Writing Newton's Law of Motion for the system:
F e x t = ∑ m i a i
⟹ 2 m g ( − j ^ ) + F y ( j ^ ) + F x ( − i ^ ) = 2 m l ω 2 ( − cos ( θ ) i ^ − sin ( θ ) j ^ )
Equating the components:
F x = 2 m l ω 2 cos ( θ )
F y = 2 m g − 2 m l ω 2 sin ( θ )
Magnitude of net reaction force: F x 2 + F y 2
∴ F x 2 + F y 2 = 2 m g
⟹ ( 2 m l ω 2 cos ( θ ) ) 2 + ( 2 m g − 2 m l ω 2 sin ( θ ) ) 2 = 4 m 2 g 2
⟹ 4 m 2 l 2 ω 4 cos 2 ( θ ) + 4 m 2 g 2 − 2 m 2 g l ω 2 sin ( θ ) + 4 m 2 l 2 ω 4 sin 2 ( θ ) = 4 m 2 g 2
⟹ 4 m 2 l 2 ω 4 = 2 m 2 g l ω 2 sin ( θ )
⟹ sin ( θ ) = 8 g l ω 2
∴ θ = arcsin ( 8 0 π 2 )