Help me understand a misconception....

[asterroc]

An interesting situation came up in my Physics class today, where two of my students surprised me with a question they asked. To try and understand their thinking so I can teach the content better, I'd like to ask that everyone take a look at the below situation and tell me what you think will happen. I don't care if you know any physics or if you're a professional ear-wax taster, I want to know what you think and why.

In the picture below, Box 1 (m₁) is hanging from a string that passes over a pulley. There's no friction in the pulley, and the pulley has no mass, so it can spin freely. The string is then connected to Box 2 (m₂) sitting on a table. For simplicity, let's assume there's no friction on the table - there's some lubrication between the box and the table.



[Poll #1162218]

X-posted a couple places.

Comments

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

A for all.

As explained by moosehead_beer here,

"What we really have here is two blocks which, for all we care, could be floating freely in space, and we have a force acting on one of them, resulting in a tension in the string."

A more detailed explanation would require a Free Body Diagram and further knowledge of Forces - want that too?

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

Ah. Now -that- explanation makes the correct answer make sense. Trying to conceive of this frictionless surface otherwise makes me twitch.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

Ah. Now -that- explanation makes the correct answer make sense. Trying to conceive of this frictionless surface and how it works otherwise makes me twitch.

[littlez-star.livejournal.com]

I don't think I need it thank you. Having read all the comments and discussions I think I understand a lot more. =]