When two objects of unequal mass are hung vertically over a frictionless pulley of negligible mass as in figure (a), the arrangement is called an Atwood machine. The device is sometimes used in the laboratory to determine the value of g. Determine the magnitude of the acceleration of the two objects and the tension in the lightweight string. The Atwood machine. (a) Two objects connected by a massless inextensible (b) The free-body diagrams for string over a frictionless pulley. the two objects. a b
