- #1
Opus_723
- 178
- 3
So, the classic scenario: Person on frictionless rotating platform, holding a spinning bicycle wheel with vertical axis of rotation. Flips it over, and the platform spins in the direction the wheel was originally spinning. Angular momentum is conserved.
My question is: Is there any way to understand what is going on here without using the concept of angular momentum? Are there forces or torques that we can follow from the wheel to the person to the platform that would explain the motion of the platform? I know this would be much more cumbersome and unwieldy an explanation, but I'm curious how you would do so.
My question is: Is there any way to understand what is going on here without using the concept of angular momentum? Are there forces or torques that we can follow from the wheel to the person to the platform that would explain the motion of the platform? I know this would be much more cumbersome and unwieldy an explanation, but I'm curious how you would do so.