Euler's Disk
wobbler

 

Code Number: 1Q60.25

Demo Title: Euler's Disk & Wobbler

Condition: Excellent

Principle: Conservation of Angular Momentum about Vertical Axis

Area of Study: Mechanics

Equipment:

Euler's Disk, wobbler.

Procedure:

The Euler's disk is very easy to use.  Spin the heavy disk ( rounded edge down ) on the slightly concave base.  If you listen carefully, you should hear the pitch of the spinning disk increasing as the disk slows down. 

Place the "Wobbler" on a table and press down on one end with your finger.  Let it slide out from under your finger and it will rotate.  The figure ( X or O ) on the end that you pressed on will be stroboscopically visible.  

References:

  • W. L. Andersen, "Noncalculus Treatment of Steady-State Rolling of a Thin Disk on a Horizontal Surface", TPT, Vol. 45, # 7, Oct. 2007, p. 430.
  • Russell Akridge, "Period and Amplitude", TPT, # 8, Vol. 36, p. 507, Nov. 1998.
  • Karl C. Mamola, "A Rotational Dynamics Demonstration", TPT, # 4, Vol. 32, p. 216, April 1994.
  • Christian Peterson, William Schwalm, "Euler's Rigid Rotators, Jacobi Elliptic Functions, and the Dzhanibekov or Tennis Racket Effect", AJP, Vol. 89, #4, April 2021, p. 349.
  • A. E. Sikkema, S. D. Steenwyk, J. W. Zwart, "Spinning Tubes: An Authentic Research Experience in a Three-Hour Laboratory", AJP, Vol. 78, # 5, p. 467, May 2010.
  • D. Petrie, J. L. Hunt, and C. G. Gray, "Does the Euler Disk Slip During its Motion?", AJP, Vol. 70, # 10, Oct. 2002, p. 1025.
  • Lorne A. Whitehead, Frank L. Curzon, "Spinning Objects on Horizontal Planes", AJP, Vol. 51, # 5, May 1983, p. 449.
  • M. G. Olsson, "Coin Spinning On a Table", AJP, Vol. 40, # 10, p. 1543, Oct. 1972.
  • Jearl Walker, "Delights of the "Wobbler," A Coin or a Cylinder that Precesses As It Spins", The Amateur Scientist, Oct. 1982.
  • Mir Abbas Jalali, Mohammad-Reza Alam, "The Surprising Dynamics of Rolling Rings", Physics Today, Feb. 2016, p. 70.
  • Benjamin Fong Chao, "Feynman's Dining Hall Dynamics", Physics Today, Feb. 1989, p. 15.
  • "1.110, Wobbling Coins and Bottles", The Flying Circus of Physics, p. 54.
  • Don Rathjen, Paul Doherty, "Sprotating Cylinder", Square Wheels, 2002, p. 109.
  • Neil A. Downie, " # 20, Waltzing Tube", Ink Sandwiches, Electric Worms, & 37 Other Experiments for Saturday Science", p. 171.