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
Velocity dispersion Velocity dispersion In astronomy, the velocity dispersion ("σ") is the statistical dispersion of velocities about the mean velocity for a group of objects, such as an open cluster, globular cluster, galaxy, galaxy cluster, or supercluster. By measuring the radial velocities of its members, the velocity dispersion of a cluster can be estimated and used to derive the cluster's mass from the virial theorem. Radial velocity is found by measuring the Doppler width of spectral lines of a collection of objects. The more radial velocities one measures, the more accurately one knows their dispersion. A central velocity dispersion refers to the