Serway & Jewett — Rotation of a Rigid Object about a Fixed Axis: Problem 36

You have been hired as an expert witness in the case of a factory owner suing a demolition company. The particular case involves a smokestack at a factory being demolished. In order to save money, the factory owner wanted to move the smokestack to a nearby factory that was being built. The demolition company guaranteed to deliver the undamaged smokestack to the new factory by toppling the smokestack freely onto a huge cushioned platform lying on the ground. The then-horizontal smokestack would have been loaded onto a long truck rig for transport to the new factory. However, as the smokestack toppled, it broke apart at a point along its length. The factory owner is blaming the demolition company for the destruction of his smokestack. The demolition company is claiming that there was a defect in the smokestack and that is the reason for its destruction. What advice do you give the attorney who is handling the case on the side of the factory owner?