1D50.50 Welch Centripetal Force

Two masses, one of them fixed, the other free to move but attached to a larger mass weighing it down, are attached to a rod, which is rotated by a motor. If the rod rotates fast enough, the smaller mass on the rod lifts the larger mass underneath the device.

The device also has an in-built counter, which can measure the number of rotations the rod undergoes in a minute. These measurements can be used to corroborate the formulas for centripetal motion.

A photo of the Welch centripetal motion apparatus. A motor is fixed to a platform. An attachment at the end of the motor includes a vertical rod. The vertical rod ends in a horizontal rod cross-bar which is centered on the vertical rod. A large cylindrical mass sits on the vertical rod just below the cross-bar. A small mass sits on each side of the cross-bar. The entire apparatus is clearly designed to spin.

A more modern apparatus which uses Vernier data collection apparatuses to collect data on the centripetal force of the small mass as a function of angular velocity is also in use in the Physics labs.

A vertical rod sits in the middle of a vertically-oriented square metal frame. The base of the rod is positioned at the center of the base of the square frame. A cross-bar marked as a ruler stretches horizontally from the top of the vertical rod. One mass sits on each side of the cross-bar. A thin torsional wire extends upward from the top of the cross-bar to a point at the middle of the top bar of the surrounding square frame.

Location: Older Welch Apparatus C2-4, Motor Q3-3, Newer Welch Apparatus Room 73