Imagine that you are designing a fairground ride. Customers will climb into a ca
ID: 1496067 • Letter: I
Question
Imagine that you are designing a fairground ride. Customers will climb into a capsule, which will have a mass of 5 tonnes (5000 kg) when fully loaded. This capsule is spun around in circles at the end of a ten metre beam. There is also a counterweight, with a mass of 10 tonnes, which is at the end of a five metre beam on the opposite side of the pivot. What is the moment of inertia of this ride (both the capsule and the counterweight)? You may assume that the beams do not contribute significantly to the total moment of inertia.
Explanation / Answer
The total moment of inertia is due to the sum of masses at a distance from the axis of rotation
= mi*ri^2 = 5000*10^2 + 10000*5^2 = 750000 kg. m2