On Jul 15, 2006, at 02:54 UTC, Bob Delaney wrote: > Are you interested in just rotational motion about the center of > mass, or do you want full translational-rotational motion from the > point of view of an inertial coordinate system?
I don't think translation is important for my purposes; rotation about the center of mass would suffice. And I'm very glad you've jumped into this thread, Bob, since I think you are a lifelong teacher, and I'm certainly a lifelong student. :) What I'm trying to do is understand why it is that a rotating object in space has a strong tendency to rotate around the axis with the greatest moment of inertia -- as happened to the Explorer I satellite, for example: <http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1332.htm> I've gotten various hand-wavy explanations of this phenomenon, but I don't feel I truly understand something until I can simulate it. Starting with a known working simulation would help separate problems of understanding from problems of implementation. Thanks, - Joe -- Joe Strout -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Verified Express, LLC "Making the Internet a Better Place" http://www.verex.com/ _______________________________________________ Unsubscribe or switch delivery mode: <http://www.realsoftware.com/support/listmanager/> Search the archives of this list here: <http://support.realsoftware.com/listarchives/lists.html>
