I've been debating with a classmate about whether weight cause a torque on a sphere of...

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Physics

I've been debating with a classmate about whether weight cause atorque on a sphere of uniform density on a friction-less incline.My perspective is that since the force of gravity acts from thecenter of mass, if we're considering a sphere then weight will beunable to produce a torque since it will act at the pivot point(the center of the sphere). My classmate contends that the pivotpoint is actually at the point of contact between the sphere andthe surface. So, if this is true the parallel component of theweight would act on a lever arm extending from the point of contactto the center of mass, and therefore cause torque. Can you settlethis for me?

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4.1 Ratings (641 Votes)

Without any doubt the sphere slides without rotating when placed on a frictionless inclined surface Explanation When calculating torque we first need to be careful while choosing the axis See Answer

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