Conserving Angular Momentum, Without the Ice Skates

Introduction

You might have heard about “conservation of angular momentum” and that it has something to do with ice skating. But how can you demonstrate it if you don’t have any ice skates around? Find out in this simple activity that only requires common household supplies!

Background

Have you ever heard of Newton’s first law of motion? It states that an object at rest (not moving) will remain at rest, and a moving object will keep moving, unless they are acted on by an outside force. This means that an object’s momentum (its mass times its velocity) will stay the same unless an outside force acts on it somehow. You experience this every day. For example, imagine catching a ball. When the ball is moving, it has momentum. You have to exert a force with your hand to stop the ball (and bring its momentum down to zero). If the ball is heavier or moving faster, it has more momentum, and is harder to catch (you have to exert a bigger force).

While this concept is usually described in relation to objects moving in a straight line, it also applies to spinning objects. The terminology is a little different when we talk about spinning objects. Instead of forces, which are pushes or pulls that act in a straight line, we refer to torque, which is a “twist” applied to an object (think of twisting a screwdriver or a doorknob). Instead of mass we refer to moment of inertia, which measures how spread out the mass is about the point of rotation. Instead of velocity we say angular velocity, which measures how fast an object rotates. Finally, instead of momentum we say angular momentum.

Even though the terms are a little different, the exact same concepts apply. The angular momentum of a spinning object will remain the same unless it is acted on by an outside torque. In physics, when something stays the same, we say it is conserved. That’s where the phrase “conservation of angular momentum” comes from. The classic example of this is a spinning ice skater, or someone spinning in an office chair. By pulling in her arms, the skater decreases her moment of inertia (all her mass is closer to the middle), so her angular velocity has to increase in order to keep her angular momentum constant.

However, this can be difficult to demonstrate if you don’t have ice skates or a spinning office chair handy. In this project you will demonstrate conservation of angular momentum using a straw, string, and small object like a washer.

Materials

Observations and Results

When you start twirling the straw with the washer far away from the center, and then pull the string through the straw, you should notice that the washer spins faster. This happens because angular momentum is conserved. Angular momentum is an object’s moment of inertia times its angular velocity. If one increases, the other one decreases, and vice versa. When you pull the string through the straw, bringing the washer closer, you decrease its moment of inertia (you bring its mass closer to the point of rotation). To compensate and keep angular momentum constant, the washer’s angular velocity has to increase. The reverse happens when you loosen the string and allow the washer to move out farther. Its moment of inertia increases, so for angular momentum to remain constant, the rotational speed has to decrease.

Additional Resources

• Swiveling Science: Conserving Momentum in a Spinning Chair, from Scientific American
• Science Activities for All Ages!, from Science Buddies