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Angular momentum (sometimes called moment of momentum or rotational momentum) is the rotational analog of linear momentum.It is an important physical quantity because it is a conserved quantity – the total angular momentum of a closed system remains constant.
Conservation of angular momentum states that J for a closed system, or J for the whole universe, is conserved. However, L and S are not generally conserved. For example, the spin–orbit interaction allows angular momentum to transfer back and forth between L and S , with the total J remaining constant.
For reference and background, two closely related forms of angular momentum are given. In classical mechanics, the orbital angular momentum of a particle with instantaneous three-dimensional position vector x = (x, y, z) and momentum vector p = (p x, p y, p z), is defined as the axial vector = which has three components, that are systematically given by cyclic permutations of Cartesian ...
As an illustration, if a physical system behaves the same regardless of how it is oriented in space (that is, it's invariant), its Lagrangian is symmetric under continuous rotation: from this symmetry, Noether's theorem dictates that the angular momentum of the system be conserved, as a consequence of its laws of motion.
In physics, a conservation law states that a particular measurable property of an isolated physical system does not change as the system evolves over time. Exact conservation laws include conservation of mass-energy, conservation of linear momentum, conservation of angular momentum, and conservation of electric charge.
The law of conservation of angular momentum states that in the absence of applied torques, the angular momentum vector is conserved in an inertial reference frame, so =. The angular momentum vector L {\displaystyle \mathbf {L} } can be expressed in terms of the moment of inertia tensor I {\displaystyle \mathbf {I} } and the angular velocity ...
The apparent contradiction with the law of conservation of angular momentum is resolved because the cat is not a rigid body, but instead is permitted to change its shape during the fall owing to the cat's flexible backbone and non-functional collar-bone. The behavior of the cat is thus typical of the mechanics of deformable bodies.
Examples of integrals of motion are the angular momentum vector, =, or a Hamiltonian without time dependence, such as (,) = + (). An example of a function that is a constant of motion but not an integral of motion would be the function C ( x , v , t ) = x − v t {\displaystyle C(x,v,t)=x-vt} for an object moving at a constant speed in one ...