Can someone help with this rotational physics problem?

Question

I have a force acting only tangentially on the outer edge of a freely spinning wheel. I know this creates a torque that will accelerate the wheel. But how does this force effect the pivot point or bearing at its centre? Is any of this force transmitted to the bearing and if so how? Thanks!!!

Answer 1

The point of torque is that you can neglect the forces at the pivot point, since you are interested only in rotations. Thus it assumes that the pivot point is stationary. If this is true, then the pivot point must supply the opposite force necessary for there to be no center of mass motion. Thus, if you apply a 5N force, the pivot point supplies 5N of force in these types of problems. This force applies no torque about the axis (r = 0), making the problem easy to do. If you have a free body, say a disk with a rocket strapped to it, to apply a constant tangential force, the thing will wobble in free space. Only objects subject to uniform forces, e.g. gravity, will rotate exactly about the center of mass.

Answer 2

If it's acting tangentially, it only creates a moment about the center equal to the force x radius. Only when the spinning wheel loses momentum, does the pivot or bearing of the center change due the weight of the wheel.

Answer 3

Gravity and friction