Rolling and slipping motion of Euler's disk.
We present an experimental study of the motion of a circular disk spun onto a table. With the help of a high speed video system, the temporal evolution of (i) the inclination angle alpha, (ii) the angular velocity omega, and (iii) the precession rate Omega are studied. The influence of the mass of the disk as well as the friction between the disk and the supporting surface are considered. Both inclination angle and angular velocity are observed to decrease according to a power law. We also show that the precession rate diverges as the motion stops. Measurements are performed very near the collapse as well as on long range times. Times to collapse have been also measured. Results are compared with previous theoretical and experimental works. The major source of energy dissipation is found to be the slipping of the disk on the plane.
Caps
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GRASP, Department of Physics B5, University of Liège, B-4000 Liège, Belgium.
Dorbolo
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Ponte
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Croisier
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Vandewalle
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