Rigid body dynamics r and velocities v. Select a reference point R and compute the relative position and velocity vectors, The total linear and angular momentum vectors relative to the reference point R are and If R is chosen as the center of mass these equations simplify to To specialize these formulas to a rigid body, assume the particles are rigidly connected to each other so P, i=1...,n are located by the coordinates r and velocities v. Select a reference point R and compute the relative position and velocity vectors, where ω is the angular velocity of the system. The linear momentum and
Linear motion According to Newton's first law of motion, objects that do not experience any net force will continue to move in a straight line with a constant velocity until they are subjected to a net force. Under everyday circumstances, external forces such as gravity and friction can cause an object to change the direction of its motion, so that its motion cannot be described as linear. One may compare linear motion to general motion. In general motion, a particle's position and velocity are described by vectors, which have a magnitude and direction. In linear motion, the directions of all the vectors