mary hass asks:


CATAGORY: Mechanics QUESTION: Frictionless pulley? What about the tension on the rope?

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The concept of the frictionless pully is to be interpreted as a pulley
that turns without resistance as the rope passes over it OR that a
rope slips over the pulley without resistance.  That does not mean
that a rope will not have tension in it.  The source of the tension
however will be due to whatever forces are acting on the ends of the
rope.  Also a frictionless pulley does not mean that it does not have
a rotational moment of inertia.  This becomes important if significant
rotational energy can be stored in the pulley.  A frictionless pulley
simply means that there are no energy losses from a pulley system
through friction on the axle of the pulley or from contact of the rope
with the pulley.

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