Question

A barbell in the weight room consists of a pair of spheres of diameter d and mass M. They are separated by a rigid massless rod of length L.

(a) with the origin chosen at the middle of the rod, calculate the moment of inertia tensor of the barbell. Provide reasoning for any choices you make.

(b) The barbell is suspended horizontally at the center of the rod by a flexible and massless cord and is at rest along the x-axis. The sphere on the right is struck by an impulsive blow of strength I perpendicular to the rod. Find the velocities of the spheres immediately after the blow, if the blow is vertical upward.

Answer 1