Undergrad Axial angular momentum calculation

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The discussion focuses on the calculation of axial angular momentum and the role of the moment of inertia tensor in rigid body dynamics. Angular momentum is defined concerning a reference point, and axial angular momentum is a component of this vector along a specified axis. The inertia tensor, a (0,2)-rank tensor, is crucial for determining angular momentum when a rigid body rotates, and its components can change based on the body's orientation relative to the coordinate system. The inertia tensor can be expressed in a body-fixed coordinate system, where its components remain constant over time, unlike in a fixed lab frame. The concept of the inertia tensor is primarily applicable to rigid bodies, with limited utility for non-rigid systems.
  • #31
cianfa72 said:
In the context of Newtonian physics I believe there is no gain from the bi-vector language/definition.
This is probably true for textbook problems, where simple systems are meant to be solved by hand. But this assessment might change in the context of automated computation of more complex systems, which have a lot of symmetry, like some robots or animated characters. Here, you often have to mirror the mechanics from one side to the other. And not having to keep track which vectors are pseudo-vectors, and thus have to be negated after mirroring, might simplify the code.

Think about how quaternions where replaced in physics by vector analysis in the late 19th century, but then had a comeback in the late 20th century in computer graphics and robotics:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaternion#History
 

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