Angular Momentum

What it Shows

Inspired by Richard Feynman's story in his 1985 book (pp 63-65), Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman, the demonstration answers the question "which direction does a lawn sprinkler spin if water enters the nozzle rather than being expelled from...

A motor driven gyro hidden in a suitcase gives surprising results when the suitcase is moved.

Small gyroscope used primarily as a stage prop in discussion.

Lecturer tries to swing baseball bat while standing on turntable.

Rotating balls change speed as radius of rotation is changed.

What it shows:

Conservation of angular momentum and the exponential increase in friction are what save the coffee mug from smashing into the floor. Use this entertaining demonstration to introduce either of those physics concepts.

How it works:

You need a...

Ball on string orbits with increasing speed as string is shortened.

What it shows:

An object moving in a circular orbit of radius r has an angular momentum given by:

L = r × mv = mr²ω.

A simple way to show conservation of angular momentum is a ball on a...

Lecturer rotates on turntable whilst holding two dumbbells.

What it shows:

Angular momentum, the product of a body's moment of inertia and angular velocity, is always conserved. A reduction in moment of inertia will result in a proportional rise in angular...

Vector representation of position, velocity, and acceleration.

What it shows:

A circular train track¹ is mounted on a board. X-Y axes are painted on the board with the origin at the center of the circle. Vector Arrows (Newtonian Mechanics, Vectors and...