If there is a park nearby containing a freely rotating child’s merry-go-round, take some time with a friend to observe some of the phenomena discussed in this chapter. In particular, make these observations:
a. What is a typical rotational velocity that can be achieved with the merry-go-round? How would you go about measuring this?
b. How long does it take for the merry-go-round to come to rest after you stop pushing? Could you estimate the frictional torque from this information? What other information would you need?
c. If you or your friend are riding on the merry-go-round, what happens to the rotational velocity when you move inward or outward from the axis of the merry-go-round? How do you explain this?