Fidget Spinner Physics

Fidget Spinners

What makes these toys so fun to play with and spin? There is physics behind this answer. First of all, the reason why the spinner keeps on spinning has to do with inertia, friction, and ball bearing that make up the fidget spinner. There are different kinds of inertia. There is inertia for a linear motion such as pushing a toy car across the floor. There is also the inertia of a rotating object such as a fidget spinner. There are factors that affect the inertia of the spinner. These include the distribution of weight from the axis of where the rotation is originating and the weight of the entire object.

The above equations involve the moment of inertia for a rotating object. The first involves a rotational force that affects angular momentum. The second is the equation for angular momentum with the factors of inertia and angular velocity. The other components of the fidget spinner are the fiction and the ball bearings. Since there is less friction with a rolling movement rather than a sliding movement, there are ball bearings that allow the fidget spinner to spin. The ball bearings are placed at the center of the spinner where there center of mass is for the object. The other protruding parts of the spinner are simply there to add weight so that the spinner continues to spin longer. Surprisingly enough, there is a lot physics in these little toys.

https://www.livescience.com/58963-how-fidget-spinners-work-physics.html

https://www.wired.com/2017/05/physics-of-a-fidget-spinner/

Comments

Physics of Sound Dampeners and Active Noise Cancellation

Physics of Sound Dampeners and Active Noise Cancellation Sound dampening foam panels in a recording studio. ANC headphones worn by pilots and/or passengers in consumer aviation aircraft. Acoustic treatment of soundscapes has grown alongside the sound production industry. Whether through absorption panels, diffusors and cloud panels to treat a space or headphones placed directly over the ears of listeners, acoustic treatment comes in many forms. Environments are treated acoustically to absorb excess sound to prevent sound levels from crossing a threshold above which the desired goal cannot be had. Before getting into sound dampening, we must discuss sound. Sound is produced when an object vibrates (a form of oscillation) and temporarily displaces nearby air molecules causing a wave effect as the displaced molecules collide with their neighboring molecules. Sound waves are fluctuations in pressure as the initial displacement of molecules experiences collisions that in ...

Large Hadron Collider

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator. The LHC is the largest machine in the world. It took thousands of scientists, engineers and technicians decades to plan and build, and it continues to operate at the very boundaries of scientific knowledge. It first started up on 10 September 2008, and remains the latest addition to CERN’s accelerator complex. The LHC consists of a 27-kilometre ring of superconducting magnets with a number of accelerating structures to boost the energy of the particles along the way. Map of LHC (located in Geneva, Switzerland) Thousands of magnets of different varieties and sizes are used to direct the beams around the accelerator. Just prior to collision, another type of magnet is used to "squeeze" the particles closer together to increase the chances of collisions. The particles are so tiny that the task of making them collide is akin to firing two needles 10 kilometres apart with suc...

Aerodynamics of a Golf Ball

One may wonder how a small golf ball can travel at incredibly high speeds for such long distances. While the swing of the club is a major component, the structure of the golf ball is quite important. Unlike a baseball or tennis ball, a golf ball has dimples all over it (usually 336 dimples). These dimples allow the golf ball to travel without facing much air resistance. This diagram shows how air travels around the golf ball. The dimples on the golf ball also prevent drag that would occur in the wake region, resulting in further distance. Also due to the contact with the club during the swing, the golf ball has backspin during its entire flight. This diagram shows the motion of the golf ball mid flight with the lift force of F. There are hundreds of different types of golf balls that a player can choose. Some show little affect to a player's game while others can alter their performance completely. Personally, I prefer Callaway Supers...

LSA E Mech 2017-18

Search This Blog