  We designed a very simple asymmetric rolling spool and we studied it
experimentally, in the librational regime, by using a video camera and video
analysis software. Comparison of experimental results and theoretical analysis
allows addressing critical aspects related both to the characteristic of the
oscillatory anharmonic motion of the system and to the role of friction forces
in determining it. For that reasons the asymmetric rolling spool can be
presented to undergraduate students as an interesting case study where to apply
their physics knowledge to understand the behavior of real objects.
