Abstract
Angular momentum is the rotational analog of linear momentum and is also associated with a conservation principle. Kepler's second law of planetary motion is an example of angular momentum conservation. An ice skater's rotational motion also demonstrates the conservation of angular momentum. When unstable nuclei decay with the emission of particles, angular momentum is conserved. The conservation of angular momentum is a universal principle. This chapter introduces the law of conservation of angular momentum by considering the criterion for its validity and illustrates its scope with varied examples. It defines the angular momentum for a particle and then presents the extension of that definition to a system of particles. The chapter presents the angular momentum of a system of particles as a sum of two types of angular momenta, spin and orbital, by using the center-of-mass concept. That separation of angular momentum into two types simplifies drawing conclusions about the rotational motion of the system as a whole.
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