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AP Physics C/Mechanics Moment of Inertia
Moment of inertia, also called mass moment of inertia or the angular mass Moment of inertia, also called mass moment of inertia or the angular mass. Moment of inertia, also called mass moment of inertia or the angular mass. The moment of inertia of an object can change if its shape changes. An ice figure skater who begins a spin with arms outstretched provides a striking example. By pulling in her arms, she reduces her moment of inertia, causing her to spin faster (by the conservation of angular momentum).Once the moment of inertia has been calculated for rotations about the center of mass of a rigid body, one can conveniently recalculate the moment of inertia for all parallel rotation axes as well, without having to resort to the formal definition. If the axis of rotation is displaced by a distance r from the center of mass axis of rotation (e.g., spinning a disc about a point on its periphery, rather than through its center,) the displaced and center-moment of inertia. The moment of inertia can also be called the mass moment of inertia (especially by mechanical engineers) to avoid confusion with the second moment of area, which is sometimes called the moment of inertia (especially by structural engineers) and denoted by the same symbol I. The easiest way to differentiate these quantities is through their units. In addition, the moment of inertia should not be confused with the polar moment of inertia, which is a measure of an object's ability to resist torsion (twisting).
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