Revisiting the Least Force Required to Keep a Block from Sliding

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Date

2013-03-11

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American Institute of Physics

Permanent Link

https://hdl.handle.net/2022/27827

Abstract

This article pertains to a problem on static friction that concerns a block of mass M resting on a rough inclined plane. The coefficient of static friction is μs and the inclination angle θ is greater than tan−1 μs. This means that some force F must be applied (see Fig. 1)1 to keep the block from sliding down the incline. Familiar textbook versions of this problem ask for the minimum value of F when it is applied in a certain specified direction, for example, parallel to the incline (φ= 0 in Fig. 1) or perpendicular to the incline (φ= 90°). Here, we generalize the problem by allowing the direction of the force to be adjustable and asking what the absolute minimum value of F is in order to keep the block from sliding.

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This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. This article appeared in The Physics Teacher (2013), Vol. 51 (4), and may be found at https://aapt.scitation.org/doi/full/10.1119/1.4795362

Keywords

Force and energy, Physics, Education

Citation

De, S. (2013). Revisiting the Least Force Required to Keep a Block from Sliding. The Physics Teacher, 51(4), 220-221.

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DOI

https://doi.org/10.1119/1.4795362

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https://aapt.scitation.org/doi/full/10.1119/1.4795362

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School of Natural Sciences Faculty Publications