Newton's cradle Newton's cradle Newton’s cradle is a device that demonstrates conservation of momentum and energy using a series of swinging spheres. When one sphere at the end is lifted and released, it strikes the stationary spheres, transmitting a force through the stationary spheres that pushes the last sphere upward. The last sphere swings back and strikes the still nearly stationary spheres, repeating the effect in the opposite direction. The device is named after 17th-century English scientist Sir Isaac Newton. It is also known as Newton's balls or Executive Ball Clicker. A typical Newton's cradle consists of a series of identically sized
Angular momentum of light associated with two distinct forms of angular momentum, respectively named light spin angular momentum (SAM) and light orbital angular momentum (OAM). The total angular momentum of light (or, more generally, of the electromagnetic field and the other force fields) and matter is conserved in time. It is well known that light, or more generally an electromagnetic wave, carries not only energy but also momentum, which is a characteristic property of all objects in translational motion. The existence of this momentum becomes apparent in the “"radiation pressure"” phenomenon, in which a light beam transfers its momentum to an absorbing or scattering