A vector quantity that is the product of moment of inertia and angular velocity. In rotational motion, angular velocity replaces linear velocity and moment of inertia replaces mass. Thus the angular momentum of a body with respect to a given axis of rotation is defined as the product of its moment of inertia by its angular velocity about that axis. The concept of angular momentum (and its conservation) followed from Galileo's law of inertia, but more directly from Newton's laws of motion and Kepler's second law (equal areas). The conservation of momentum was verified experimentally in the last half of the 17th century by Huygens, Wallis and Wren.
To calculate the total angular momentum of the Earth with respect to an axis passing through the Sun, we use the Earth's mass, 6.0 × 1024 kg, its mean radius: 6.4 × 106 m, and its mean distance from the Sun, 1.5 × 1011m. There are two contributions to the Earth's angular momentum: the spin angular momentum of rotation about an axis through...
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Bibliography
Alfvén, H. and Arrhenius, G. (1976) Evolution of the Solar System Washington, DC: NASA SP-345.
Dole, S. (1970) Habitable Planets for Man, New York: Am. Elsevier Publ. Co.
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Blizard, J.B. (1997). Angular momentum . In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Science. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4520-4_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4520-4_10
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