Why does an ice skater spin faster when they hold in their arms?
-
This phenomena is a result of the conservation of angular momentum: An isolated system's rotational intertia does not change.
-
Angular momentum is given mathematically by L = r x p, by decreasing r, p = mv must correspondingly increase for L to remain constant.
GL
Related Physics A Level answers
All answers ▸A ball is launched from ground level at 5m/s at an angle of 30 degrees above the horizontal. What is its height above ground level at the highest point in its trajectory?
What is gravitational potential and how can gravitational potential energy be used to estimate the escape velocity of a planet of mass m and radius r?
A mass, m, is resting on a slope being slowly tilted upwards from horizontal. The static friction co-efficient is 0.3 and the dynamic friction co-efficient is 0.2: at what angle will the mass begin to slip?
A ball of mass 0.25 kg is travelling with a velocity of 1.2 m/s when it collides with an identical, stationary ball. After the collision, the two balls move together with the same velocity. How fast are they moving?