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ENSC2004 - Lecture 15
Conservation of Momentum - Slides

Conservation of Linear Momentum

  • Only the impulse of external forces can cause a change in momentum
    • Internal forces do not matter, as they occur as pairs
  • When the sum of external impulses is zero:
  • Typically applied when particles collide or interact

Angular Momentum - Slides

Angular Momentum

  • Angular momentum of a particle about is defined as the “moment” of the particles linear motion about


    in this diagram would be

  • Angular moment is not the same as the linear momentum!

    A dot above a character represents a time derivative

  • If something starts at rest, its initial angular momentum = 0

Principle of Angular Impulse and Momentum

By integrating the equation above, we can get:

  • This is known as the principle of angular impulse and momentum
    • angular impulse
  • Angular momentum is sometimes represented with

Conservation of Angular Momentum

  • If sum of angular impulses is zero, angular momentum is conserved

    e.g. if a particle is only subject to forces pointing towards


    A good example of this in practice, would be the tension force acting upon a ball swinging around a pole from a rope

  • Typically you will use:


ENSC2004 - Lecture 17