A stone of mass tied to a light inextensible string of length is whirling in a circular path of radius in a vertical plane. If the ratio of the maximum tension in the string to the minimum tension in the string is 4 and if is taken to be , the speed of the stone at the highest point of the circle is:
Let be the speed at the lowest point and be the speed at the highest point. By conservation of mechanical energy from the highest to the lowest point:
The maximum tension () occurs at the lowest point of the circular path: Substitute into the equation:
The minimum tension () occurs at the highest point:
Given the ratio of maximum to minimum tension is 4:
Given and , substitute these values:
Thus, the speed of the stone at the highest point is .
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