20.1: Introduction
- Page ID
- 24550
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The general motion of a rigid body of mass m consists of a translation of the center of mass with velocity \(\overrightarrow{\mathbf{V}}_{c m}\) and a rotation about the center of mass with all elements of the rigid body rotating with the same angular velocity \(\vec{\omega}_{\mathrm{cm}}\). We prove this result in Appendix A. Figure 20.1 shows the center of mass of a thrown rigid rod follows a parabolic trajectory while the rod rotates about the center of mass.
