Why is angular momentum I𝜔 and not 𝜔∑mr?

Join the discussion
Registration is free. Ask a follow-up in this thread, or start your own.
3 replies · 2K views
GeneralOJB
Messages
42
Reaction score
0
I read that for a rotating body the kinetic energy ##E_k = \sum \frac{1}{2}mv^2 = \frac{1}{2}{\omega}^2∑mr^2 = \frac{1}{2}I{\omega}^2## where ##I## is the moment of inertia.

If we did the same thing for momentum then ##P = ∑mv = \omega\sum mr##

So why is angular momentum ##I\omega=\omega\sum mr^2##? Shouldn't the momentum just be the sum of the momentum of all the particles, like we did with kinetic energy?

Also why should I believe that this quantity ##I\omega## is conserved?
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
Use LaTeX :smile:
##E_k = \sum\frac{1}{2}mv^2 = \frac{1}{2}\sum m(\omega r)^2 = \frac{1}{2}\omega^2\sum mr^2 = \frac{1}{2}I\omega^2##
 
Ah, didn't know we had LaTeX.
 
GeneralOJB said:
Shouldn't the momentum just be the sum of the momentum of all the particles.
That would be the total linear momentum, not the total angular momentum.

Note that linear and rotational kinetic energy are both of the same physical scalar quantity. While linear and angular momentum are two different vector quantities. You should look at the vector formulas for momentum to understand it better.