August 6, 2024

Physics Unbox
Q1 Problem. Ballistic projectile. A rocket is launched from the surface of the Earth with velocity
v0 equal to the surface orbital velocity. The launch angle with respect to the horizon is α (Figure 1).
(a) What is the maximum height of the rocket above the Earth’s surface H ?
(b) What is the maximum range of the rocket L (measured along the surface of the Earth)?
Express your answers in terms of α and R. Neglect air drag.

Hint: The equation of an ellipse in polar coordinates is

p
r= ,
1 − e cos θ
where p is the semi-latus rectum (one half of the chord through one focus, perpendicular to the major
axis), e is the eccentricity, and r is the distance to one of the foci F . The angle θ is measured at this
focus F starting from the direction towards the most distant point on the ellipse (Figure 2).
Q2 Problem. A solid ball of mass m and radius a (moment of inertia I = 52 ma2 ) starts rolling
without slipping from the top of another fixed ball of radius b. Its initial velocity is negligible. The
acceleration due to gravity is g.
(a) Find the angle θ = θ0 at which the rolling ball will lose contact with the fixed ball. The angle
θ is measured between the upward direction and the segment connecting the centres of the balls.
(b) Find the velocity of the centre of mass v of the rolling ball when it detaches.
(c) What coefficient of friction k would make the upper ball start slipping at an angle θ = α < θ0 ?
Q3Two round non-conductive plates of radius R are arranged in parallel at a small distance d ≪ R
from each other, forming a flat capacitor. The plates are chärged uniformly with surface charge
densities of +σ and −σ. The points O1 and O2 are the centers of the plates. Points A and B are
located on the edges of the plates. The segments O1 O2 and AB are perpendicular to the planes of the
plates. Find the potential differences between pairs of points:
1) O1 and O2 ;
2) A and B;
3) O1 and A.

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 Q4 Consider a thin flat disk of mass M and face area S at temperature T1 resting initially in
weightlessness in a gas of mass density ρ at temperature T0 (T1 = 1000T0 ). One of the faces of the disk
is covered with a thermally insulating layer, the other face has a very good thermal contact with the
surrounding gas: gas molecules of mass m obtain the temperature of the disk during a single collision
with the surface.
Estimate the initial acceleration a0 and maximal speed vmax of the disk during its subsequent
motion.
Assume the heat capacity of the disk to be on the of order N kB , where N is the number of atoms
in it, and kB is the Boltzmann constant, and molar masses of the gas and the disk’s material to be
of the same order. The mean free path length of molecules is much larger than the size of the disk.
Neglect any edge effects occuring at the edge of the disk.

Q5 A pencil is placed vertically on a table with the tip facing low. Let’s study the relationship
between the fall of the pencil and the direction of movement from the tip of the pencil. The pencil is a
bar of length L, with a distribution uniform mass M and a moment of inertia 21 M L2 The pencil gets
a small push that makes him fall.

Q6. Two images are being built at once. This is the image of S1 in the M1 mirror and S2 in the
M2 mirror (Fig. ). Now let’s check if other images can appear. S2 turns out to be behind the reflective
surface of both mirrors, and therefore cannot produce a new image.
Let’s find the area from which the image of S1 is visible. To do this, we will draw the rays coming
from S1 and passing through the edges of the grain M1 . The image will be visible from the check
located between the rays on the working side of the mirror M1 . The widest solution of the angle of
”visibility” of the image S, will be between the rays coming out of the uppermost point of the image.
From the construction, we determine that the M2 mirror does not fall into this area for any of the
image points. This means that S, does not give a new image in M2 . So, there are only two images in
the system.

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 Q7 When an intense laser beam falls onto a semitransparent plate, the transmitted light can
self-focus to a point behind the plate due to the inhomogeneous heating of the material. This effect,
known as thermal lensing, is observed in materials whose index of refraction increases with temperature,
characterized by a positive thermo-optic coefficient γ = dndT .
A semitransparent disk with radius a = 15.0 mm, thickness b = 0.2 mm and optical absorption
coefficient A = 0.1 is composed of a material having thermal conductivity k = 0.3Wm−1 K−1 and
thermo-optic coefficient γ = 2.5 · 10−4 K−1 . The outer rim of the disk is thermally connected to a
circular metallic holder (not shown in the figure) maintained at a constant temperature Th = 20◦ C. A
parallel laser beam of radius σ = 0.5 mm and power PL = 20 mW is incident normally onto the center
of the disk. The intensity distribution is homogeneous across the cross-section of the beam.

a) Skbreaketch a qualitative graph of the temperature profile T (r), where r denotes the distance from the axis
of the beam. Indicate clearly on the graph the illuminated region 0 ≤ r ≤ σ and the outer region σ ≤ r ≤ a.
b) In the vicinity of the center of the disk, the temperature profile can be represented by a quadratic
function T (r) = TC + mr2 . Calculate the parameters TC and m.
c) S the beam is focused in one point and find the distance f from this point to the disk. If you failed to
obtain Tc and m in part b), you may use them as parameters in your final answer.
Do not consider the thermal expansion of the disk. Neglect the thermal radiation and the heat exchange
between the disk and the surrounding air. Assume that the index of refraction of air is nair = 1.

Q8 A bowling ball and a golf ball are thrown together on a level surface from a height h. The sphere and
the ball have very small radii, much less compared to the height h. After falling from a height h, the sphere
bounces off the surface and then collides with the golf ball. The ball and the sphere are thrown so that their
motion before their mutual collision is completely vertical. The golf ball hits the cue ball at an angle a, as
shown in the figure. All collisions are completely elastic, so there is no surface friction when the ball comes
into contact with the ball.

a) Determine the speed of a golf ball of mass m after its collision with a ball of mass M bounced off the
ground. Express the result using the values specified in the text of the task.
In the continuation of the task, we will assume that the mass of the sphere is much greater than the mass
of the golf ball, so that their mutual collision can be viewed as a collision of a golf ball with a moving wall.
b) After the collision with the ball, the golf ball makes an oblique shot and falls at a distance ℓ from the
place of collision. Determine that distance, ignoring air resistance.
c) Now suppose that the height h from which the sphere and the ball are released is fixed, but that we can
adjust the angle α. Find the angle α for which the distance l at which the ball falls on the horizontal surface,
will be the largest.

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 Q9 A dumb-bell shaped planet revolves around the sun. (The planet can be considered as two mass points,
connected by a rigid rod of length d and negligible mass. The motion is planar; the mass of the planet can be
neglected compared to that of the sun.) When the planet’s orientation is not symmetric with respect to the
vector r drawn from the sun to the planet’s center of mass, gravitational forces will tend to turn the planet
towards the direction of r. If during its revolution the planet is in its perihelion (aphelion) when a torque in
one (in the other) direction is exerted on it, an exchange between orbital and rotational angular momenta can
take place.
a) What relation holds between the two types of motion?
b) Can the planet’s rotation increase for a long time at the expense of its revolution? If so, under what
conditions?
c) When can the planet fall into the sun? (Until the planet reaches the surface of the sun, it is sufficient
to calculate gravitational forces to the same order as at the beginning of the motion.) √
Q10.Consider a satellite that has a shape of a plate of surface area A and of thickness d ≪ A. The
surface normal of the plate is turned towards Sun. The satellite has to convert solar energy into electrical
energy and charge the onboard batteries. At the position of the satellite, the solar energy flux density is S.
What is the theoretically maximal constant charging power if any devices can be installed inside the satellite,
but its outer coating can be only a gray painting (from white to black), i.e. the emissivity has to be independent
of the wavelength? Different parts of the satellite can be painted differently. Neglect the cosmic microwave
background.
Q11 In a homogeneous, straight, solid cylinder a hole is prepared over its full length coaxially, such that
the radius of the hole is half of that of the cylinder. An other cylinder, with same length and same material is
placed precisely inside of the hole, such that it does not clog. The outer cylinder is fitted with a shaft along
the line fitting to the point P which is on the outer side of the cylinder. The shaft has frictionless bearings
and is placed horizontally. The system is released from an initial condition presented on the figure.
a) What is the maximum value of the coefficient of static friction between the surfaces of the cylinders, if
we find that the inner cylinder slips inside the outer one at the instant of the release?
b) What should be the value of the coefficient of static friction such that the inner cylinder does not slip
at all during the complete motion?

Q12 A heavy attachment in the form of a small ball of mass M rigidly connects a rod of length L and
the middle of a thin round metal disk. The second end of the rod is attached to the ceiling by a hinge W , so
that the entire structure can swing, while the rod is always perpendicular to the disk (see figure). From below,
exactly under the hinge, at a distance a from the disk, a point charge q is fixed. Find the period of small
vibrations of the structure. The disc is grounded, the magnitude of a is small compared to L and with the
radius of the disc, the rod and disc are light. The acceleration of gravity is g, the air resistance is neglected.