Center of mass of a system of variable mass particles
Abstract We study the dynamics of the center of mass (CM) of a set of particles when the number of particles in the system varies during a short interval of time, or when the value of the mass of one of the particles depends on time. We show that in both situations, while the population or mass of t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Portuguese |
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Sociedade Brasileira de Física
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| Series: | Revista Brasileira de Ensino de Física |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1806-11172019000300420&lng=en&tlng=en |
| _version_ | 1819105396821852160 |
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| author | M.T. Thomaz E.V. Corrêa Silva |
| author_facet | M.T. Thomaz E.V. Corrêa Silva |
| author_sort | M.T. Thomaz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract We study the dynamics of the center of mass (CM) of a set of particles when the number of particles in the system varies during a short interval of time, or when the value of the mass of one of the particles depends on time. We show that in both situations, while the population or mass of the system varies, the linear momentum of the CM differs from the total linear momentum of the system. During this time interval, the dynamics of the CM is driven by the external forces that act on the system plus transient forces that depend on the position and velocity of the CM. This dynamics is applied to study the time evolution of the vector position of the CM of a system of free particles moving on an air rail in which the mass of one the particles varies in a short time interval. We want to show it to students that with the knowledge and tools they have at an elementary Mechanics course they can formulate and answer questions which are not in the textbooks. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T02:21:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0241c25251094a2ca13272a3ac5f5d85 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1806-9126 |
| language | Portuguese |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T02:21:35Z |
| publisher | Sociedade Brasileira de Física |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revista Brasileira de Ensino de Física |
| spelling | doaj.art-0241c25251094a2ca13272a3ac5f5d852022-12-21T18:42:06ZporSociedade Brasileira de FísicaRevista Brasileira de Ensino de Física1806-912641310.1590/1806-9126-rbef-2018-0344S1806-11172019000300420Center of mass of a system of variable mass particlesM.T. ThomazE.V. Corrêa SilvaAbstract We study the dynamics of the center of mass (CM) of a set of particles when the number of particles in the system varies during a short interval of time, or when the value of the mass of one of the particles depends on time. We show that in both situations, while the population or mass of the system varies, the linear momentum of the CM differs from the total linear momentum of the system. During this time interval, the dynamics of the CM is driven by the external forces that act on the system plus transient forces that depend on the position and velocity of the CM. This dynamics is applied to study the time evolution of the vector position of the CM of a system of free particles moving on an air rail in which the mass of one the particles varies in a short time interval. We want to show it to students that with the knowledge and tools they have at an elementary Mechanics course they can formulate and answer questions which are not in the textbooks.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1806-11172019000300420&lng=en&tlng=enClassical Mechanicscenter of masslinear momentumvariable massvariable number of particlesone-dimensional motion |
| spellingShingle | M.T. Thomaz E.V. Corrêa Silva Center of mass of a system of variable mass particles Revista Brasileira de Ensino de Física Classical Mechanics center of mass linear momentum variable mass variable number of particles one-dimensional motion |
| title | Center of mass of a system of variable mass particles |
| title_full | Center of mass of a system of variable mass particles |
| title_fullStr | Center of mass of a system of variable mass particles |
| title_full_unstemmed | Center of mass of a system of variable mass particles |
| title_short | Center of mass of a system of variable mass particles |
| title_sort | center of mass of a system of variable mass particles |
| topic | Classical Mechanics center of mass linear momentum variable mass variable number of particles one-dimensional motion |
| url | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1806-11172019000300420&lng=en&tlng=en |
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