A system consists of a small bead of mass m that can slide along a large uniform ring of mass 5m. Initially, the ring is at rest on a horizontal table, and the velocity of the bead is v. Find the minimum kinetic energy of the bead during the subsequent motion of the system. Friction is negligible.
Quite a few readers successfully tackled our October Challenge, Tackle this!, including several first-time contributors. We are pleased to recognize the following successful solvers:
Shreetama Bhuniya (student, Garden High School, India)
Philip Blanco (Grossmont College, El Cajon, CA)
Phil Cahill (The SI Organization, Inc., Rosemont, PA)
Juan Cid de la Paz Jiménez (student, Escuela Politécnica Superior University of Seville, Seville, Spain)
Sebastian de la Cruz (Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru, Peru)
Norman Derby (Southwestern Oregon Community College, Brookings, OR)
Don Easton (Lacombe, Alberta, Canada)
José Costa Leme (Escola Básica e Secundária de...