CATAGORY: Mechanics QUESTION: Frictionless pulley? What about the tension on the rope?
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The concept of the frictionless pully is to be interpreted as a pulley that turns without resistance as the rope passes over it OR that a rope slips over the pulley without resistance. That does not mean that a rope will not have tension in it. The source of the tension however will be due to whatever forces are acting on the ends of the rope. Also a frictionless pulley does not mean that it does not have a rotational moment of inertia. This becomes important if significant rotational energy can be stored in the pulley. A frictionless pulley simply means that there are no energy losses from a pulley system through friction on the axle of the pulley or from contact of the rope with the pulley.