Is Rotational Motion Possible in a Straight Line?

AI Thread Summary
A body can indeed experience both translational and rotational motion simultaneously. The center of mass can move in a straight line while the body rotates around that center. Examples include a baton twirling in the air, spinning balls, and the wheels of a car. Additionally, celestial bodies like planets and galaxies also exhibit this dual motion. Understanding this concept is essential in physics as it illustrates the complexity of motion in different contexts.
QAZI
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can a body moving in a straight line be in rotational motion as well?
 
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QAZI said:
can a body moving in a straight line be in rotational motion as well?
Sure, why not? The center of mass of a body can move in a straight line, while the body also rotates about the center of mass.
 
Yeah I actually just learned about this in my class. An object can undergo both translational motion and rotational motion. For example, imagine a baton twirling in the air. The center of mass of the baton travels a certain horizontal distance (translational motion), but it also has a torque applied about its center of mass which causes rotational motion.
 
Can you give some examples?
thanks anyways.
 
yeah,but... are there some more examples?
 
Doc Al said:
Sure, why not? The center of mass of a body can move in a straight line, while the body also rotates about the center of mass.
Can you give some examples?
thanks anyways.
 
pradeepk said:
Yeah I actually just learned about this in my class. An object can undergo both translational motion and rotational motion. For example, imagine a baton twirling in the air. The center of mass of the baton travels a certain horizontal distance (translational motion), but it also has a torque applied about its center of mass which causes rotational motion.
yeah,but... are there some more examples?
 
okay, there are plenty of examples: spinning ball, wheels of a car, any rotating object in a car, etc
 
ashishsinghal said:
okay, there are plenty of examples: spinning ball, wheels of a car, any rotating object in a car, etc
can we say planets or sun or galaxies are also some of the examples?
thanks anyways.
 
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