Question

What pressure does a block of weight 600N and dimensions 1m x 1m x 3m exert when it is: a) laid on its side? b) stood on one end? Why does it exert different pressures in different positions?

Answer 1

Answer:

When a particle of mass m moves on the x-axis in a potential of the form V(x)=kx

2

. It performs simple harmonic motion. The corresponding time period is proportional to

k

m

, as can be seen easily using dimensional analysis. However, the motion of a particle can be periodic even when its potential energy increases on both sides of x=0 in a way different from kx

2

and its total energy is such that the particle does not escape to infinity. Consider a particle of mass m moving on the x-axis. Its potential energy is V(x)=αx

4

(α>0) for |x| near the origin and becomes a constant equal to V

0

for ∣x∣≥X

0

(see figure).

The acceleration of this particle for ∣x∣>X

0

is?

question