Cool Tricks You Didn’t Know About Your Office Chair
I bet you’ve sat on an office chair at least in one point in your life. Those cool chairs are super comfortable with thick cushions, and oh my, you can move around with the wheels and spin around the chair!
When I was a kid, I used to love spinning in these chairs. I’d climb up on my dad’s office chair and whirl around until I got dizzy and light headed. I’ve grown up now, and to this point I still am fond of office chairs. But in a different way.
It was just a while ago when I was studying Angular Momentum when I realized how my childhood companion obeyed the marvelous laws of physics, just like anything else.
Sit on your office chair right now, and spread your arms wide open. Yes, just like the man in the picture.
Now, push yourself around the chair with your feet and start spinning.
After you’ve picked up some speed, bring your hands in together and feel that quick rush!
These all have to do with momentum.
Oh, and if you are having trouble understanding momentum in class, don’t fret — I’m here to guide you!
Simply put, momentum represents the “amount of motion” an object have.
Momentum is always conserved.
Linear momentum, for objects moving in a straight line, is defined as the mass times velocity. Angular momentum, for rotating objects, is defined as the radius from the rotating to the center multiplied by the angular velocity multiplied by the mass.
Check out this wonderful website if you would like to learn more!
The rotating object chair has angular momentum. In this scenario, when you open your arms wide, you have a relatively large moment of inertia because the distance from your hands to the chair is quite large.
When you brings your hands towards yourself, you are decreasing the distance. Momentum is always conserved, and your mass stays constant. Thus, the angular velocity of the chair increases to compensate for the decreased radius and you spin faster!
Now, do you understand why ice skaters spread out their arms and then bring them back to themselves when spinning? Tell me what you think in the comments!
P.S. I respond to every comment :)
