Video-based analysis of the transition from slipping to rolling

The problem of a disc or cylinder initially rolling with slipping on a surface and subsequently transitioning to rolling without slipping is often cited in textbooks. The following experiment serves to clearly demonstrate the transition from rolling with slipping to rolling without slipping. In the experiment, a rotating bicycle wheel was placed in contact with a horizontal surface and the wheel in motion was tracked using Tracker video analysis software [8]. The software created linear velocity plots for the centre of mass and a point on the circumference as well as a plot of the angular velocity of the rotating wheel. The time evolution plots created by Tracker clearly illustrate the transition between the two types of motion.