Movimiento de rotación de un cuerpo rígido libre de torcas

Abstract

The demonstration experiment here presented illustrates how the stability of the rotational motion of a rigid body in the absence of torques depends on the relative value of the moment of inertia associated to the axis of rotation. The objective is satisfactorily gotten using a tennis racket and a box with similar values of its moments of inertia to those of the racket. The rotating body is thrown into the air and when goes down is caught by the thrower. The motion is stable when the body rotates about the principal axis corresponding to either the greatest or smallest principal moment of inertia. However, when the body rotates about the axis corresponding to the intermediate moment, the body also rotates about the axis which has associated the smallest moment of inertia.