Mechanical conservation of energy/ Maxwell's wheel with measure Dynamics

Principle

A wheel, which can unroll around its axis on two cords, moves a gravitational field. This process is filmed with a video camera. The potential energy, kinetic energy, and rotational energy are converted into one another and determined as a function of time with the aid of the "measure Dynamics" software.

Benefits

• High and sturdy set-up
• Expressive demonstration of energy conversion
• Convert potential energy in energy of rotation, energy of translation, and vice versa
• Easy measurement and evaluation via movement tracking software

Tasks

1. Determination of the moment of inertia of the Maxwell wheel by way of the distance-time relationship.
2. Determination of the moment of inertia of the Maxwell wheel by way of the velocity-time relationship.
3. Graphical representation of the potential energy, kinetic energy, and rotational energy as a function of time.

Learning objectives

• Maxwell disc
• Energy of translation
• Energy of rotation
• Potential energy
• Moment of inertia
• Angular velocity
• Angular acceleration
• Instantaneous velocity
• Gyroscope