Randall D. Knight — Dynamics II: Motion in a Plane: Problem 42

You’ve taken your neighbor’s young child to the carnival to ride the rides. She wants to ride The Rocket. Eight rocket-shaped cars hang by chains from the outside edge of a large steel disk. A vertical axle through the center of the ride turns the disk, causing the cars to revolve in a circle. You’ve just finished taking physics, so you decide to figure out the speed of the cars while you wait. You estimate that the disk is 5 m in diameter and the chains are 6 m long. The ride takes 10 s to reach full speed, then the cars swing out until the chains are 20° from vertical. What is the cars’ speed?