A plumb bob is hung from the ceiling of a train compartment. If the train moves with an acceleration ‘a‘ along a straight horizontal track , the string supporting the bob makes an angle tan−1 (a/g) with the normal to the ceiling. Suppose the train moves on an inclined straight track with uniform velocity. If the angle of incline is tan−1 (a/g), the string again makes the same angle with the normal to the ceiling. Can a person sitting inside the compartment tell by looking at the plumb line whether the train is accelerating on a horizontal straight track or moving on an incline? If yes, how? If not, then suggest a method to do so.
Answers
A plumb bob is hung from the ceiling of a train compartment.
now Can a person sitting inside the compartment tell by looking at the plumb line whether the train is accelerating on a horizontal straight track or moving on an incline:
No A person sitting inside the compartment cannot say just by looking at the plumb line whether the train is accelerating on a horizontal straight track or moving on an incline.
Reason : in both the cases the angle that string makes with the normal to the ceiling is same.
When the train is accelerating along the horizontal, the tension in the string is m√g²+a²;
when it is moving on the inclined plane, the tension is mg. So, by measuring the tension in the string we can differentiate between the two cases.
No a person sitting in the train will not be able to tell the difference.
But if he measures the tension in the rope, he will notice the difference