Skip to main content

Angular Momentum, Angular Velocity

  • Reference work entry
Encyclopedia of World Climatology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

  • 2527 Accesses

An important physical concept appropriate to a rotating globe such as a planet, angular momentum is defined as the moment of the linear momentum of a particle about a point, thus:

where M is the angular momentum about a point 0, the position vector from 0 to the particle, m the mass of the particle and the velocity.

Angular momentum plays an important role in both the Earth’s rotation and the coupling of the solid earth to the atmosphere. The speed of rotation (angular velocity) of the Earth varies only by small amounts, and these may be related in part to angular momentum lost to or received from the atmosphere. The atmospheric circulation patterns are modified by these energy transfers. The Earth’s angular velocity is the speed of its rotation about the geographic pole, thus its pole of instantaneous rotation, and not with reference to a point in space. The angular velocity is approximately 2π/S or sidereal day of 86 164.09 seconds, roughly 24 hours, or 15.04106863 seconds of arc per...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 499.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 329.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Bibliography

  1. Barry, R.G. and Chorley, R.J., 1998. Atmosphere,Weather, and Climate, 7th edn. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Clough, H.W., 1920. The principle of angular momentum as applied to atmospheric motion, Monthly Weather Review, 45(8): 463.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Goody, R., 1995. Principles of Atmospheric Physics and Chemistry. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  4. McIlveen, R., 1992. Fundamentals of Weather and Climate. London: Chapman & Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Nese, J.M., and Grenchi, L.M., 1998. A World of Weather: Fundamentals of Meteorology, 2nd edn. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall Hunt.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Robinson, P.J., and Henderson-Sellers, A., 1999. Contemporary Climatology, 2nd edn. Harlow: Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Rossby, C.G., 1940. Planetary flow patterns in the atmosphere. Quarterly Journal Royal Meteorological Society, 66: 68–87.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Thompson, R.D., 1998. Atmospheric Processes and Systems. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Von Arx, W.S., 1962. An Introduction to Physical Oceanography. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Wallace, J.M., and Hobbs, P.V., 1997. Atmospheric Science: An Introductory Survey. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Widger, W.K., 1949. A study of the flow of angular momentum in the atmosphere. Journal of Meteorology, 6: 291.

    Google Scholar 

Cross-references

  1. Atmospheric Circulation, Global

    Google Scholar 

  2. Jet Streams

    Google Scholar 

  3. Vorticity

    Google Scholar 

  4. Zonal Index

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2005 Springer

About this entry

Cite this entry

Fairbridge, R.W. (2005). Angular Momentum, Angular Velocity. In: Oliver, J.E. (eds) Encyclopedia of World Climatology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht . https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3266-8_10

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics