What is 'angular momentum' 🧑‍🔧

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And the quick answer is…

The cross product of a vector from a specified reference point to a particle, with the particle’s linear momentum. Also: For a system of particles, the vector sum of the angular momentum of the particles.

Angular Momentum is defined as the property of any rotating object given by the product of the moment of inertia and angular velocity of the rotating object.

It is a vector and has both magnitude and direction.

The common examples of angular momentum are the rotation and revolution of Earth.

According to wikipedia…

Time to look at the wikipedia definition for “angular momentum”:

In physics, angular momentum (rarely, moment of momentum or rotational momentum) is the rotational analog of linear momentum. It is an important quantity in physics because it is a conserved quantity.

These are questions that people still ask:

Angular momentum

How does angular momentum affect the speed of a skater...

By bringing part of the mass of her body closer to the axis, she decreases her body's moment of inertia. Because angular momentum is the product of moment of inertia and angular velocity, if the angular momentum remains constant (is conserved), then the angular velocity (rotational speed) of the skater must increase.

How does momentum affect the speed of a skater...

By bringing part of the mass of her body closer to the axis she decreases her body's moment of inertia. Because angular momentum is the product of moment of inertia and angular velocity, if the angular momentum remains constant (is conserved), then the angular velocity (rotational speed) of the skater must increase.