Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Extended Systems

2016; Springer International Publishing; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1007/978-3-319-29257-1_7

2192-4791

Alessandro Bettini,

In this chapter we discuss the mechanical systems composed of more than one particle or by bodies of finite extension. We start in the first three sections with the simplest ones, namely the two-body systems and learn how they interact and discuss a few examples (double stars, tides). We then discuss the experiments on collisions between two pendulums that led Newton to establish the principle of conservation of linear momentum. We then consider systems of many particles, introducing the concepts of total linear momentum and total angular momentum. We shall find the fundamental laws giving their rate of change, and study the properties of the center of mass of the system. In the last two sections we shall come back to the study of collisions, both elastic and inelastic, introducing the concepts of impact parameter and scattering angle.