- #1
student335
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Homework Statement
I'm reading through Taylor's Classical Mechanics, and I am confused by one sentence in section 10.6
The image he is referencing is this
while the text is here.
Specifically the statement "the gravitational torque is clockwise"
Using the right hand-rule, I run my fingers along the e3 vector and curl down for gravity, so my thumb points into the screen, which is exactly what Taylor says when the torque vector is into the page. This means that, if I am looking at the top from above (the z-axis) I will see it rotating in the counterclockwise direction. This all I understand.
But what is he talking about when he says the gravitational torque is clockwise?