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Physics LibreTexts

1.9: Hemispheres

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Uniform solid hemisphere

Figure I.4 will serve. The argument is exactly the same as for the cone. The volume of the elemental slice is πy2δx=π(a2x2)δx and the volume of the hemisphere is 2πa33 , so the mass of the slice is

M×π(a2x2)δx÷(2πa/3)=3M(a2x2)δx2a3

where M is the mass of the hemisphere. The first moment of mass of the elemental slice is x times this, so the position of the centre of mass is

¯x=32a3a0x(a2x2)dx=3a8

Hollow hemispherical shell.

We may note to begin with that we would expect the centre of mass to be further from the base than for a uniform solid hemisphere.

Again, Figure I.4 will serve. The area of the elemental annulus is 2πaδx (NOT 2πyδx!) and the area of the hemisphere is 2πa2 . Therefore the mass of the elemental annulus is

M×2πaδx÷(2πa2)=Mδx/a

The first moment of mass of the annulus is x times this, so the position of the centre of mass is

¯x=a0xdxa=a2


This page titled 1.9: Hemispheres is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Jeremy Tatum via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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