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An aluminum cylinder weighing 30N, 6 cm in diameter and 40 cm long, is falling concentrically through a long vertical sleeve of diameter 6.04cm. The clearance is filled with SAE 50 oil at 20'C. Estimate the terminal(zero acceleration) fall velocity. Neglect air dray and assume a linear velocity distribution in the oil.

User Denvaar
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Final answer:

This question involves calculating the terminal velocity of an aluminum cylinder falling through an oil-filled sleeve, a concept in fluid dynamics within the field of Physics, requiring an application of balancing forces and understanding drag in viscous fluids.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question deals with estimating the terminal velocity of an aluminum cylinder falling through a sleeve filled with oil, which is a classic problem in fluid dynamics, specifically in the sub-area of drag and resistive forces.

When an object falls through a viscous fluid, it eventually reaches a state of terminal velocity, where the net force acting on the object is zero, and hence it falls with constant velocity. The net force is zero because the gravitational force (weight) on the object is balanced by the bouyant force and the drag force. For an aluminum cylinder falling through oil, we can assume a linear velocity distribution along the gap between the cylinder and the sleeve, which allows for a simplification of the problem to a point where analytic solutions are possible.

In order to calculate the terminal velocity, the specific dimensions of the cylinder and sleeve, the properties of SAE 50 oil at 20'C, and the weight of the cylinder are needed. While Stokes' law is used primarily for spherical objects in viscous fluids, we would use a modified version of this principle for cylindrical objects to determine the drag force, which requires knowledge of the oil's viscosity.

User Cflux
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