angular momentum

angular momentum

n.1. The vector product of the position vector (from a reference point) and the linear momentum of a particle.2. The vector sum of the angular momentums of each infinitesimal component particle of an extended body.

angular momentum

n (Mathematics) a property of a mass or system of masses turning about some fixed point; it is conserved in the absence of the action of external forces

an′gular momen′tum

n. the product of the moment of inertia of a body about an axis and its angular velocity with respect to the same axis. [1870–75]

an·gu·lar momentum

(ăng′gyə-lər) A quantity used to measure the motion of a body that is moving in a circle. The angular momentum depends on the mass and velocity of the body, and on the radius of the circle that it is moving along. Because the velocity of a body moving in a circle is always changing (since velocity is speed and direction), its angular momentum is also always changing.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

angular momentum - the product of the momentum of a rotating body and its distance from the axis of rotation; "any rotating body has an angular momentum about its center of mass"; "angular momentum makes the world go round"momentum - the product of a body's mass and its velocity; "the momentum of the particles was deduced from meteoritic velocities"

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