We need someone who can inject some real knowledge into the discussion! We're counting on you!SlartyBartFast wrote:Here we go again, I come back from a long hiatus and get sucked in to thinking these things through and I start jumping in on threads (probably half-cocked).
I have followed usual practice of analysis ... first analyze the energies as the components of the car rotate about the car's (moving) CM, then, second, analyze the energies as the car's CM rotates about the track's center of curvature. If you choose a point on the car other than its CM, then the second part of the process gets a lot more complex.SlartyBartFast wrote:My muddled memory and the time since my last physics and dynamics class aside, the car most certainly does not spin around its CM.Stan Pope wrote:In this case, measure the moment of inertia as the car "spins" about its CM.
As the car goes around the transition curve, there are two points around which it rotates. The rear axle as the nose lifts, and the centre of rotation which is probably somewhere off above the car. The center of rotation is dynamic and depends on the wheelbase and the track curve.
Given those two centres, although that's probably muddled as one is related to the other, the distance between the centres and the CM give you the inertias and momentums.
Set me straight! Please!