🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <9505112012.AA08777@csupomona.edu> John Mallinckrodt <ajmallinckro@CSUPOMONA.EDU> writes:

>Mervin Koehlinger writes:

>>Now we're getting to the heart of the matter.  It's not individual forces
>>that produce rotation, but couples!
>>
>>Forces produce translation; couples produce rotation.

>Sorry, that does not compute.  A rod in "free space" will be set into
>rotation by a SINGLE force as long as that force is not applied along
>a line that passes through the rod's center of mass.

>John Mallinckrodt

Right, that's it.

As to the football player: I believe the original example of the football 
player had this player "flying" through the air, not touching ground or 
players or anything. If he's not already rotating, he won't start rotating. 
To get him rotating, something has to hit his feet (or his head, or anything 
not along a line with his CM--and gravity or not, friction or not, he _will_ 
start rotating).

Hit 'em hard enough and eventually you'll be able to order it on a videotape 
some Sunday afternoon for only $19.95 so ACT NOW!     ;)



  Matt Tuley                                              tuley@csn.org

   Making my own little dent in the infinite Spandex of the universe...