How Does Angular Impulse Affect a Rotating Cylinder's Momentum?

In summary: It would be the most helpful of all if you can give the final angular momentum expressed in terms of L1 and ΔL.The final angular momentum is L = L1 + ΔL.
  • #1
24forChromium
155
7
True or false.jpg

Hopefully the image is self-explanatory, if not:

A cylinder is rotating around its central axis with angular momentum L1; an angular impulse, ΔL is then added to the cylinder, perpendicularly with respect to L1.

The hypothetical result is: the cylinder has one angular mometum at the end, L-result. L-result is equivalent in magnitude to L1, and its direction is shifted counter-clockwise by a certain amount so that a line parallel to L1 draw from the tip of L-result will meet the tip of ΔL, mathemetically, the angle has increased in the counter-clockwise direction by (90-arccos(ΔL / L1)) degrees. (<-- that stuff is got from basic trignometry)

Is this true? If it is false, what is the right way to do it?

Additional question:
will the cylinder "follow" the angular momentum arrow and also point in the new direction, or will it remain in place and then rotate around the new arrow in a weird fashion?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
The vectors add, so the resulting angular momentum will have a larger magnitude.

24forChromium said:
will the cylinder "follow" the angular momentum arrow and also point in the new direction, or will it remain in place and then rotate around the new arrow in a weird fashion?
Neither. It will precess.
 
  • #3
mfb said:
The vectors add, so the resulting angular momentum will have a larger magnitude.

Neither. It will precess.
I heard from various sources that if the two angular momentum vectors are perpendicular to one another, they will only change the direction of the final angular mometum. I understand, albeit to a shallow extent, precession, and I think precession only occurs when a torque is continuously exerted on a wheel. Also, it would be the most helpful of all if you can give the final angular momentum expressed in terms of L1 and ΔL.
 
  • #4
  • Like
Likes 24forChromium
  • #5
24forChromium said:
Also, it would be the most helpful of all if you can give the final angular momentum expressed in terms of L1 and ΔL.
As vector: L = L1 + ΔL
This is conservation of angular momentum.
As magnitude: ##|L|=\sqrt{L1^2 + ΔL^2}## - using the right angle between the two components.

See the section "Torque-free" in the wikipedia article.
 

FAQ: How Does Angular Impulse Affect a Rotating Cylinder's Momentum?

1. What is angular momentum?

Angular momentum is a physical quantity that measures the rotation of an object around an axis. It is the product of an object's moment of inertia and its angular velocity.

2. How is angular momentum different from linear momentum?

Angular momentum refers to the rotation of an object, while linear momentum refers to the motion of an object in a straight line. Angular momentum is a vector quantity, while linear momentum is a scalar quantity.

3. What is the relationship between angular momentum and torque?

Torque is the measure of the force that causes an object to rotate. The change in angular momentum of an object is directly proportional to the applied torque and the time interval over which it acts.

4. How is angular momentum conserved in a system?

In a closed system, the total angular momentum remains constant. This means that if one object gains angular momentum, another object in the system must lose an equal amount of angular momentum in the opposite direction.

5. How is impulse related to angular momentum?

Impulse is the change in an object's momentum due to a force acting on it for a certain amount of time. In terms of angular momentum, impulse is the change in an object's angular momentum due to a torque acting on it for a certain amount of time.

Back
Top