S5 Angular Momentum
Motivation
In this section we develop concise methods of describing rotational motion using quantities such as angular velocity, angular momentum and moment of inertia, the rotational analogues of velocity, momentum and mass. Using this new language, we can describe such counterintuitive phenomena as the behaviour of spinning tops and gyroscopes, and find out why it is easier to ride a bicycle with bigger wheels.Objectives
By the end of this section you should:
- know the analogies between linear and rotational motion
- understand the concepts of angular velocity, angular momentum and torque, and their connection to Newton’s second law expressed in angular variables
- be able to use conservation of angular momentum to describe simple physical phenomena.