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Verification of König's Theorem Experiment

König's theorem states that the kinetic energy of a system is equal to the kinetic energy of the center of mass plus the kinetic energy of the system relative to the center of mass. An experiment was conducted to verify this theorem using two discs connected by a wire that could rotate freely or be fixed to a frame. The period of oscillation was measured in both cases and found to match the theoretical prediction from König's theorem and Steiner's theorem, validating the decomposition of kinetic energy. Sources of error included friction at the disc connections and human reaction time in timing the oscillations.

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Cayuss Andrei Mihăițoaia
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261 views3 pages

Verification of König's Theorem Experiment

König's theorem states that the kinetic energy of a system is equal to the kinetic energy of the center of mass plus the kinetic energy of the system relative to the center of mass. An experiment was conducted to verify this theorem using two discs connected by a wire that could rotate freely or be fixed to a frame. The period of oscillation was measured in both cases and found to match the theoretical prediction from König's theorem and Steiner's theorem, validating the decomposition of kinetic energy. Sources of error included friction at the disc connections and human reaction time in timing the oscillations.

Uploaded by

Cayuss Andrei Mihăițoaia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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König’s theorem

Opincă Andrei-Cristian, 104E


May 2023

Contents
1 Purpose of the experiment 1

2 Theory and formulae 1

3 Experimental data, and results 2

4 Sources of errors 3

1 Purpose of the experiment


-Verification of König’s decomposition theorem for systems in relative motion
(expression in the theory section), implicitly of Steiner’s theorem

2 Theory and formulae


König’s theorem (1761): The kinetic energy of a system is equal to the kinetic
energy of the center of mass relative to the laboratory frame plus the kinetic
energy of the system relative to the center of mass frame:
n n
X mk v ′2
X mk v 2 k
2
mvCM k
= + ,
2 2 2
k=1 k=1

for a system of n point masses and total mass m.


The simplified experimental montage consists of two discs fixed in a frame,
through which a metal wire is passed such that rotation about the axis of the
wire is allowed, which undergoes torsion. The discs can either be hinged to the
frame by a horizontal screw, such that they rotate together with the frame, or
set free, such that they maintain their original orientation.
In the first situation, an observer in the center of mass frame finds himself
in a rotated position relative to the starting point (for example, a ruler held
out by the observer toward the wire is not transported parallel to itself), the

1
angular velocity being identical to that of the system. One may thus write, for
one disc:
mv 2 2
mvCM Iω 2
KELF = = + = KECM + KECM F ,
2 2 2
2
where KECM F = Iω2 is the energy due to rotation as seen in CMF, and I is
the inertia moment about the central principal axis parallel to the wire. Since
CMF revolves about this axis at a distance d, vCM = ωd. The total energy is
expressed as:
Cϕ2
ELF = (md2 + I)ω 2 + ,
2
where both discs and torsion potential energy were included. Notably, one can
arrive at this expression by means of Steiner’s theorem. The period of oscillation
is found by taking the derivative of the expression for energy; thus:
r
2m(d2 + R2 /2)
T1 = 2π
C
In the case of rotation free from the frame, the observer in CMF does not
see himself rotated from the starting point (the ruler is undergoes parallel trans-
port), and thus assigns no kinetic energy relative to CMF. In Steiner’s theorem,
this is equivalent to replacing the discs with point masses (a degree of freedom
of rotation is ”locked”), so the total energy reads:

Cϕ2
ELF = md2 ω 2 + .
2
The period of oscillation for the system is:
r
2md2
T2 = 2π
C
T1
One can determine the ratio T2 experimentally and compare with the theoretical
value: r
T1 d2 + R2 /2
= > 1.
T2 d2
Using either expression for T1,2 gives the value of the torsion constant.

3 Experimental data, and results


With d = 4.5 ± 0.1cm and R = 2.7 ± 0.1cm, and the measurement results below,
one finds:
T1
≈ 1.06 ± 0.05
T2 exp
T1
= 1.09 ± 0.02,
T2 th

2
where statistical and functional errors were used, respectively. Indeed, one sees
good correlation between theory and experiment.

5T1 (s) 5T2 (s)


8.28 7.55
7.85 7.30
8.17 7.81
8.05 7.79

Table 1: Time measurements

4 Sources of errors
The principal source of error is the energy loss through friction at the non-ideal
hinges; this is seen in the second situation, where the discs do rotate slightly
about their own symmetry axis (introducing a rotation term as well). Another
source of errors is the experimenter’s reaction time; this can be improved by
studying the motion on multiple periods of oscillation. However, oscillations are
recorded visually (i.e. no device registers when the 5th oscillation has ended);
perhaps an optical gate device as in previous experiments is appropriate.

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