Most of us would understand the concept of torque. However, I am going to ask a question which is slightly more involved.

I shall spin a rod of length 'L' with an angular velocity 'ω' about its centre of mass and place it on a ground with a kinetic friction coeficcient of η_k.  Without using the torque equation and only applying Newton's 2^nd law of motion (F=ma) , could you derive the rod's 'ω' as function of time, 't'. 

This is a very interesting exercise to clearly understanding the various forces acting on and inside a rigid body, the direction of those forces and the associated unknowns. 

Many students fail to understand the constraints of a rigid body motion. They also do not easily appreciate how using the torque euqation so much simplifies rigid body dynamics. 

I hope this exercise will be fun. I will post the solution in a few days though.

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