Question

Two discs of moments of inertia I₁ and I₂ about their respective axes (normal to the disc and passing through the centre), and rotating with angular speeds ω₁ and ω₂ are brought into contact face to face with their axes of rotation coincident. (a) What is the angular speed of the two-disc system? (b) Show that the kinetic energy of the combined system is less than the sum of the initial kinetic energies of the two discs. How do you account for this loss in energy? Take ω₁ ≠ ω₂.

Answer 1

When the two discs are joined together, their moments of inertia get added up.

Moment of inertia of the system of two discs, l = l₁ + l₂ 

Let ω be the angular speed of the system.

Total final angular momentum, L_f = (l₁ + l₂)ω

Using the law of conservation of angular momentum, we have:

Final kinetic energy E_f:

The loss of KE can be attributed to the frictional force that comes into play when the two discs come in contact with each other.