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Q.What are the factors affecting moment of inertia of an object ?

Kerala DhseKerala DHSE Plus One Board 2023Subjective· 2mImportance★★★★★
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Moment of inertia, I = Σ mi ri², depends on how much mass a body has and, crucially, on how that mass is distributed with respect to the chosen axis of rotation.

The moment of inertia of a rigid body about a given axis is defined as I = Σ mi ri², where mi is the mass of each particle of the body and ri its perpendicular distance from the axis. From this definition, the factors that affect I are:

  1. Mass of the body — for a given distribution, I is directly proportional to the total mass; a heavier body has greater moment of inertia.
  2. Distribution of mass about the axis — since I depends on ri², mass located farther from the axis contributes much more to I than the same mass located close to the axis. This is why a hollow cylinder has a larger moment of inertia than a solid cylinder of the same mass and radius.
  3. Shape and size of the body — different shapes (ring, disc, sphere, rod, etc.) distribute their mass differently relative to a given axis, giving each a different moment-of-inertia formula even for the same mass and same overall dimension. …

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