mathman said:When you flap your arms your body will move in the opposite direction from the flapping - momentum will be conserved.
The law of conservation of momentum states that the total momentum of a closed system remains constant. This means that in a system where no external forces are acting, the total momentum before an event must equal the total momentum after the event.
The conservation of momentum is important because it is a fundamental principle of physics that allows us to predict the outcomes of interactions between objects. It is also a key concept in understanding the behavior of objects in motion and plays a crucial role in many real-world applications such as collisions and explosions.
In a collision, momentum is conserved because the total momentum of the objects before the collision must be equal to the total momentum after the collision. This means that if one object gains momentum, another object must lose an equal amount of momentum in order for the total momentum to remain constant.
Some examples of conservation of momentum in everyday life include a billiard game, where the momentum of the cue ball is transferred to the other balls upon impact, and a rocket launching into space, where the momentum of the gas expelled from the rocket propels it forward.
The conservation of momentum is closely related to Newton's third law of motion, which states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This means that when two objects interact, they exert equal and opposite forces on each other, resulting in a conservation of momentum.