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Saturday, March 20, 2010

How to Use the Parallel Axis Theorem to Find Moments of Inertia

The parallel axis theorem is a neat shortcut that allows us to find moments of inertia for objects when the axis of rotation is somewhere other than the center of mass of the object. If you know the inertia for objects when going through the center of mass, you can quickly find the new value of I for any axis that is parallel to the center of mass axis and displaced by some distance from the center of mass, d. The theorem says I_new = I_cm + Md^2. We do not have to use the integral to apply the theorem, which is why it is such a nice shortcut.

This video shows a couple quick examples of how to apply the theorem. Hope it helps!

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