Study of the friction torque in the bearing of a flywheel in the general physics laboratory

In one of the standard laboratory exercises a system of two bodies is studied – a flywheel and a weight connected to its axis by means of a cord. Our aim is to verify that the moment of the frictional forces in the flywheel bearing is constant. In order to achieve this goal, we study the movement of the weight and investigate it through video recording. Through a statistical test, the coefficient of determination R2, we prove that the acceleration of the weight is constant and, hence, the flywheel also rotates with constant acceleration which, on its side, means that the moment of friction is constant.