(a) Show that the principal moments of inertia of a uniform circular cylinder of radius a, length h and mass M about its centre of mass are I1=I2=M(a2/4+h2/12) and I3=Ma2/2, with the x3 axis being directed along the length of the cylinder.
(b) Euler's equations governing the angular velocity (ω1,ω2,ω3) of an arbitrary rigid body as viewed in the body frame are
I1dtdω1=(I2−I3)ω2ω3I2dtdω2=(I3−I1)ω3ω1
and
I3dtdω3=(I1−I2)ω1ω2
Show that, for the cylinder of part (a),ω3 is constant. Show further that, when ω3=0, the angular momentum vector precesses about the x3 axis with angular velocity Ω given by
Ω=(3a2+h23a2−h2)ω3