Principle of Conservation of Angular Momentum

Recall from the last section that ext = dL/dT . In light of

this equation, consider the special case of when there is no
net torque acting on the system. In this case, dL/dT must be
zero, implying that the total angular momentum of a system
is constant. We can state this verbally: If no net external
torque acts on a system, the total angular momentum of the
system remains constant. This statement describes the
conservation of angular momentum. It is the third of the
major conservation laws encountered in mechanics (along
with the conservation of energy and of linear momentum).
There is one major difference between the conservation of
linear momentum and conservation of angular momentum.
In a system of particles, the total mass cannot change.
However, the total moment of inertia can. If a set of particles
decreases its radius of rotation, it also decreases its
moment of inertia. Though angular momentum will be
conserved under such circumstances, the angular velocity
of the system might not be. We shall explore these concepts
through some examples. Consider a spinning skater. A
popular skating move involves beginning a spin with one's
arms extended, then moving the arms closer to the body.
This motion results in an increase of the speed with which
the skater rotates increases. We shall examine why this is
the case using our conservation law. When the skater's
arms are extended, the moment of inertia of the skater is
greater than when the arms are close to the body, since
some of the skater's mass decreases the radius of rotation.
Because we can consider the skater an isolated system,
with no net external torque acting, when the moment of
inertia of the skater decreases, the angular velocity
increases, according to the equation L = I . Another
popular example of the conservation of angular momentum
is that of a person holding a spinning bicycle wheel on a
rotating chair. The person then turns over the bicycle wheel,
causing it to rotate in an opposite direction. In this picture
the person holds the spinning bicycle wheel, and the
angular momentum of the wheel is shown. In b), the
direction of spin is reversed, causing the person to spin on
the chair to conserve angular momentum. Initially, the wheel
has an angular momentum in the upward direction. When
the person turns over the wheel, the angular momentum of
the wheel reverses direction. Because the person-wheel-
chair system is an isolated system, total angular momentum
must be conserved, and the person begins to rotate in an
opposite direction as the wheel. The vector sum of angular
momentum in a) and b) is the same, and momentum is
conserved. This example is quite counterintuitive. It seems
odd that simply moving a bicycle wheel would cause one to
rotate. However, when observed from the standpoint of
conservation of momentum, the phenomena makes sense.
Conclusion We have now completed our study of angular
momentum, and have likewise come to the end of our
examination the mechanics of rotation. Since we have
already examined the mechanics of linear motion, we can
now describe basically any mechanical situation. The union
of rotational and linear mechanics can account for almost
any motion in the universe, from the motion of planets to
projectiles.
~Herr von Bradford