Brown University Physics 0050/0070

Physics Department Falling Chain

Falling Chain

References:
van den Berg, Willem H. Force Exerted by a Falling Chain. The Physics Teacher 36 44-45.
Wa Wong, Chun and Kosuke Yasui. Falling Chains. Am. J. Phys. 74 490-496.

Calkin, [Link] R.H. March. The Dynamics of a falling chain: I. Am. J. Phys. 57 154-157.
Calkin, M.G. March. The Dynamics of a falling chain: II. Am. J. Phys. 57 157-159.

Summary of Experiment:
The following write-up discusses a specific example of an impact force, the impact force
exerted by a falling chain. The ideas to be discussed should be applicable to other impact force
systems suggested in the manual (eg water flowing from a known height onto a scale, dropped
rod, etc.).
This handout presents the theory and procedure for measuring the force exerted on a surface by a
falling chain. The chain of mass M and length L is suspended by a thread from a rod above a 50
Newton force sensor (fig. 1). When the chain is released, it undergoes freefall and lands in a cup
suspended below.

L
dx

Dixie Cup
Rod

50 Newton
Force Sensor

Fig. 1

Theory:
The force on the surface is the sum of the weight of the chain already on the surface and
the impulse, which is the reactive force to the force required to stop each link of the chain upon
impact. Since the mass of the chain on the surface increases as the chain falls, we need to
consider this a variable mass system. Keeping this in mind, the impulse force is given by (1.)

131202 1
Brown University Physics 0050/0070
Physics Department Falling Chain
dp d (mv) dv dm
F1    m v (1)
dt dt dt dt
The first term is zero since only the rate of change of the amount of chain hitting the table per
unit time is being considered. A differential mass element of the chain can be expressed by (2).
M
dm  dx (2)
L
Substituting (2) into (1) gives

M dx M 2
F1  v  v . (3)
L dt L
After a period of freefall, the velocity of the chain is given by equation (4).
v 2  2 gx (4)
Substituting (4) into (3) yields an expression for the impulse force.
x
F1  2Mg (5)
L
The total force exerted by the chain is the sum of the impulse force and the gravitational force of
the chain lying on the surface. The gravitational force is given simply by the weight of the chain.
x
F2  Mg (6)
L
The total instantaneous force is therefore
x
F ( x)  3Mg . (7)
L
Note that x has a maximum value of L, therefore the maximum force exerted by the chain is
three times the weight of the chain.
1
Equation (7) may be expressed as a function of time by making the substitution x  gt 2 , giving
2
2 2
3Mg t
F (t )  . (8)
2L

Plan of the Experiment:

Attach a Dixie cup to the end of the rod on the 50 Newton force sensor. Tare the sensor
so that it won’t record the weight of the cup. Using a piece of thread, hang a chain from the rod
above the table. Align the cup so that it is directly underneath the hanging chain. You may want
to tape the sensor to the floor to prevent it from tipping during the experiment.
Be sure that the force sensor is connected to channel A, B, or C on the Pasco Science
Workshop 750 Interface, and start a new experiment in Datastudio. Set the sample rate to 1000
Hz, and make sure the sensor is set to medium (10x). Press the start button to begin collecting
data, and release the chain by burning through the thread with a lighter. A sample graph is shown
in fig. 2 below. The quadratic area of interest was curve fitted to equation (8), the result of which
is superimposed onto fig. 2. Does your data agree with the curve predicted by (8)? You may
want to vary the mass and length by experimenting with different chains and confirming that
they all produce force curves agreeing with equation (8).

131202 2
Brown University Physics 0050/0070
Physics Department Falling Chain

Force Exerted by a Falling Chain

The force exerted by the chain

Damped oscillations
0
converging to the
weight of the chain.

-1
2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5

Time[s]
Fig. 2
3Mg 2 t 2
Sample Data with Curve Fit to F (t )  Superimposed
2L

131202 3