Linear momentum is a measure of how difficult it is to stop a particle moving in a straight line. Angular momentum is similarly a
measure of how difficult it is to stop a particle moving in a circle. In the simulation below, the ball is orbiting in a circle.
The linear momentum is shown by the green arrow. It has magnitude, represented by the length of the arrow, and direction, represented by the arrow. The former is related to the velocity of the ball. The latter is the direction in which the ball would fly if released from its orbit.
The angular momentum is shown by the black arrow. It similarly has magnitude, which depends on how fast the ball is orbiting and is represented by the length of the arrow, and direction, represented by the arrow. The latter is the axis around which the ball is orbiting.
Press the 'start' button to begin the simulation.
The simulation can be changed in a number of ways:
- the radius of the orbit can be changed using the slider
- the rotational speed can be changed using the slider
- alternatively, the direction of the orbit can be controlled in steps
- double click with the mouse to change the position of the origin
- drag with the mouse to change the viewpoint
- press 'reset' to return the values to their initial ones.
