Answer to Question #92486 in Classical Mechanics for Neha

Question

A smooth wedge A is fitted in a chamber hanging from a fixed ceiling near the earth surface. A block B placed at the top of the wedge takes a time T to slide down the length of the wedge. If the block is placed at the top of the wedge and the cable supporting the chamber is broken at the same instant, what will happen to the block?

Answer 1

The block will remain at the top of the wedge, as the cable is broken, and now, gravitational force, which were directed at some angle to the surface of the wedge, points perpendicularly to the surface, and so, there is no force to slide the block down