Angular Kinetics

Of Human
Movement
Angular analogues of Newton's
laws of motion

1. Newton’s First law-law of inertia

“The angular momentum of a body remains constant

unless a net external
torque is exerted upon the body”
AKA - The principle of conservation of angular momentum
Application of first law

• This forms the basis for the principle of

conservation of angular momentum

• Angular velocity changes to compensate for

changes in moment of inertia resulting from
alterations in radius of gyration.

• Examples of somersault and cat rotations

2. Newton’s second law-law of
acceleration
T=Iα

“A net torque produces angular

acceleration of a body that is directly
proportional to the size of the torque
and inversely proportional to the
moment of inertia of the object”
• In accordance with Newton’s second law for
angular motion, the angular acceleration of
the forearm is directly proportional to the
magnitude of the net torque at the elbow and
in the direction (flexion) of the net torque at
the elbow. The greater the moment of inertia
is with respect to the axis of rotation at the
elbow, the smaller is the resulting angular
acceleration
 T=Iα
T=mk2α
As moment of inertia depends on mass
and radius of gyration, higher the mass
or larger the radius of gyration, larger
will be moment of inertia resulting in
lower angular accelaration
3. Newton’s third law-law of action and reaction

“For every torque exerted by one body on

another, there is an equal and opposite
torque exerted by the second body on the
first”
• When a baseball player forcefully swings a bat,
rotating the mass of the upper body, a torque
is created around the player’s longitudinal
axis.

• If the batter’s feet are not firmly planted, the

lower body tends to rotate around the
longitudinal axis in the opposite direction.
• Feet usually are planted, the torque
generated by the upper body is
translated to the ground, where the
earth generates a torque of equal
magnitude and opposite direction on
the batter’s shoes.
 Centripetal force

• Force directed towards centre of rotation for a

body in rotational motion.

• Centre seeking force

• Prevents the rotating body from leaving its

circular path while rotating around a fixed axis
An object moving in a circular path (e.g., when a hammer
thrower rotates the hammer before release)
• Bodies undergoing rotatory motion around a fixed axis are also
subject to a linear force.
• When an object attached to a line is whirled around in a
circular path and then released, the object fl ies off on a path
that forms a tangent to the circular path it was following at
the point at which it was released.
The following formula quantifies the magnitude
of a centripetal force in terms of the tangential
linear velocity of the rotating body
Fc = mv2/ r
Fc is centripetal force, m is mass, v is the
tangential linear velocity of the rotating body at
a given point in time, and r is the radius of
rotation
• Centripetal force may also be defined in terms of
angular velocity:
•Fcentripetal = m. r. ω2
• In this formula, Fc is centripetal force, m is
mass, and r is the radius of rotation and ω is
the angular velocity
• As is evident from both equations, the speed
of rotation is the most influential factor on the
magnitude of centripetal force, because
centripetal force is proportional to the square
of velocity or angular velocity.
• Banked tracks require less energy than flat tracks.
• Banked tracks are more mechanically efficient than flat
tracks. To prevent rotation toward the outside of the
curve, cyclist must lean to the inside of the curve
Centrifugal Force

• When rounding a corner in an automobile, there is a sensation

of being pushed in the direction of the outside of the curve.
What is felt has been referred to as centrifugal force.

• What is actually occurring, however, is that in accordance with

Newton’s first law, the body’s inertia tends to cause it to
continue traveling on a straight, rather than a curved, path.
• When rounding a corner in an automobile, there is a sensation
of being pushed in the direction of outside the curve.

• What is felt is known as centrifugal force

• Car seat belts and doors provide a reaction force that prevents
the movement