angular momentum

noun

: a vector quantity that is a measure of the rotational momentum of a rotating body or system, that is equal in classical physics to the product of the angular velocity of the body or system and its moment of inertia with respect to the rotation axis, and that is directed along the rotation axis

Examples of angular momentum in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Sebastiano Cantalupo, co-author of the study, suggests Big Wheel may have benefited from efficient gas accretion, which carried the coherent angular momentum necessary for the formation of large disks. —Larissa G. Capella, Space.com, 4 Apr. 2025

The total angular momentum of Earth's spin, the moon's spin and the moon's orbit is very large — far higher than for any other terrestrial planet. —Paul Sutter, Space.com, 17 Mar. 2025

But in this scenario, the only physical principles involved are conservation laws, such as the conservation of energy or the conservation of momentum and angular momentum. —Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 9 Sep. 2024

This gravitational radiation carries angular momentum away from the binary system, causing the neutron stars to draw together. —Robert Lea, Space.com, 12 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1817, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for angular momentum

• argumentum
• sacramentum
• testamentum
• cementum
• omentum
• tegmentum
• tomentum
• centum
• mentum