MEMS 411: Rotational Inertia Demo

The purpose of this project was to create a tool that demonstrates rotational inertia. Rotational inertia is a topic that is taught in many physics classes except in our experiences, there has not been a safe and easy way to demonstrate the concept. The classic method is having someone sit on a swivel chair with weights in their arms, but this can lead to injuries due to the unsafe nature of the method. We have created a device that can easily showcase rotational inertia, even to children by creating this device for a science center demo. With this device, anyone can understand the effects of rotational inertia in a fun, simple, and safe way