1J40.20 - Torque Beam

Code Number:
1J40.20
Demo Title:
Torque Beam
Condition:
Good
Principle:
Center of Mass
Area of Study:
Mechanics
Equipment:
Meter Stick Balance on Vertical Stand, Masses (asst.), and Screwdriver Pivot.
Procedure:

Video Credit: Jonathan M. Sullivan-Wood.

Hang the beam on the screwdriver pivot. The beam has loops every 10 cm.

NOTE: The beam has 5 sections on each side of the pivot.

Then a 1 kilogram mass at 10 cm can be balanced by a 200 g mass at 50 cm on the other side of the pivot.

References:
  • Paul Hewitt, "Answer to September 2019 Figuring Physics", TPT, Vol. 57, #7, Oct. 2019, p. 500.
  • W. Brian Lane, "A New Twist on Torque Labs", TPT, Vol. 52, #9, Dec. 2014, p. 529.
  • Concetto Gianino, "An MBL Experiment to Analyze the Torque on a Rigid Body", TPT, Vol. 47, #4, Apr. 2009, p. 224.
  • Paul Hewitt, "Figuring Physics: Balanced Room", TPT, Vol. 45, #6, Sept. 2007, p. 332.
  • Robert W. Bird, "Pictorial Representation of Torque and Rotational Inertia", TPT, Vol. 36, #8, Nov. 1998, p. 492.
  • Paul Hewitt, "Figuring Physics: Golf Balls in Stable Equilibrium", TPT, Vol. 36, #8, Nov. 1998, p. 486.
  • Christopher Bracikowski, "Feeling Forces that Produce Torques", TPT, Vol. 36, #1, Jan. 1998, p. 15.
  • Naftali Schweitzer and J. Reuben Freeman, "Torques about Symmetrical Bodies", TPT, Vol. 34, #6, Sept. 1996, p. 350.
  • Morton A. Fineman and Carl Burnett Jr. III, "Another Approach to Solving Problems in Rotational Statics", TPT, Vol. 23, #5, May 1985, p. 299.
  • J. Higbie, "The Level Law from a Symmetry Consideration", TPT, Vol. 18, #5, May 1980, p. 367.
  • Terry Lee Templeton, "Saw-Horse on Teeter-Totter for One Person", TPT, Vol. 5, #3, Mar. 1967, p. 138, also A Potpourri of Physics Teaching Ideas - Mechanics, p. 10.
  • G. D. Freier and F. J. Anderson, "Mo-1", A Demonstration Handbook for Physics.
  • Robert Ehrlich, "F.16. Angular Rotation of a Beam", Turning the World Inside Out and 174 Other Simple Physics Demonstrations, p. 83 - 84.
  • Robert Ehrlich, "D.8. Pennies Balanced on a Ruler", Turning the World Inside Out and 174 Other Simple Physics Demonstrations, p. 48.
  • Jodi and Roy McCullough, "Torque with a Balance Toy", The Role of Toys in Teaching Physics, p. 4.108.
  • Janice VanCleave, "183. Balancing Point", Janice VanCleave's 203 Icy, Freezing, Frosty, Cool, and Wild Experiments.
  • Julius Sumner Miller, Q137 & A137, Millergrams II – Some More Enchanting Questions for Enquiring Minds, p. 24 & 84.








Disclaimer: These demonstrations are provided only for illustrative use by persons affiliated with The University of Iowa and only under the direction of a trained instructor or physicist.  The University of Iowa is not responsible for demonstrations performed by those using their own equipment or who choose to use this reference material for their own purpose.  The demonstrations included here are within the public domain and can be found in materials contained in libraries, bookstores, and through electronic sources.  Performing all or any portion of any of these demonstrations, with or without revisions not depicted here entails inherent risks.  These risks include, without limitation, bodily injury (and possibly death), including risks to health that may be temporary or permanent and that may exacerbate a pre-existing medical condition; and property loss or damage.  Anyone performing any part of these demonstrations, even with revisions, knowingly and voluntarily assumes all risks associated with them.