Question 1
A uniform rod AB has mass m and length 4a. The end A of the rod is freely hinged to a fixed point. One end of a light elastic string, of natural length a and modulus mg, is attached to the end B of the rod. The other end of the string is attached to a small light smooth ring R. The ring can move freely on a smooth horizontal wire which is fixed at a height a above A, and in a vertical plane through A. The angle between the rod and the horizontal is
, where 0
θ
, as shown in Figure 1. Given that the elastic string is vertical,
show that the potential energy of the system is
(4)
Show that when θ
the rod is in stable equilibrium.
(7)