A small ring A is threaded on a rough wire bent in form of a circle with centre O and radius a. The wire is rotated about a fixed vertical diameter with angular speed w. The ring remains stationary relative to the wire when OA is at an acute angle @ to the downward vertical. The coefficent of friction between the ring and the wire is m. Prove that the ring will tend to slip upwards on the wire if w^2 > g/acos@ , but that it will not in fact slip, no matter how great w may be, if m >= cot@ .
If m < cot@ , find the smallest value of w which will cause the ring to slide up the wire.