Librational motion of asymmetric rolling bodies and the role of friction force

TL;DR

This paper investigates the librational motion of an asymmetric rolling spool through experiments and theory, highlighting the influence of friction forces and providing a practical case study for physics education.

Contribution

It introduces a simple experimental setup to analyze asymmetric rolling motion and emphasizes the role of friction in anharmonic oscillations, bridging theory and real-world behavior.

Findings

Friction significantly affects librational motion characteristics.

Experimental results align with theoretical predictions.

Asymmetric spools serve as effective teaching tools for complex dynamics.

Abstract

We designed a very simple asymmetric rolling spool and we studied it experimentally, in the librational regime, by using a video camera and video analysis software. Comparison of experimental results and theoretical analysis allows addressing critical aspects related both to the characteristic of the oscillatory anharmonic motion of the system and to the role of friction forces in determining it. For that reasons the asymmetric rolling spool can be presented to undergraduate students as an interesting case study where to apply their physics knowledge to understand the behavior of real objects.