Why is angular momentum perpendicular?
1 Answer
Aug 7, 2015
Angular momentum as you can tell from its name is related to the rotation of an object or a system of particles.
Explanation:
Having said that, we have to forget all about the linear and translational motion that we are so familiar with. Therefore, angular momentum is simply a quantity that shows rotation.
Look at the little curved arrow which shows angular velocity (likewise with angular momentum).
- The Formula *
We have a cross product for the 2 vectors which shows that angular momentum is perpendicular to the radial vector,