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    The period of physical pendulum


    A large bell is hung from a wooden beam so it can swing back and forth with negligible friction. The center of mass of the bell is 0.50m below the pivot, the bell has mass 38.0kg , and the moment of inertia of the bell about an axis at the pivot is 20.0kg*m^2. The clapper is a small, 1.8kg mass attached to one end of a slender rod that has length L and negligible mass. The other end of the rod is attached to the inside of the bell so it can swing freely about the same axis as the bell.

    Question - What should be the length L of the clapper rod for the bell to ring silently-that is, for the period of oscillation for the bell to equal that for the clapper?


    Solution Preview

    The period of a physical pendulum (the bell) is given by:

    T = 2*pi * sqrt (I/Mgl)

    Where I is the moment of inertia about the axis, M is the mass of the bell and l is the ...

    Solution Summary

    The solution shows how to apply the physics of a physical pendulum and mathematical pendulum to the problem.