WOLFRAM|DEMONSTRATIONS PROJECT

Binet's Ellipsoid

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view
2D
3D
t
5.5
θ
0
1.
Ï•
0
0.6
z
0
-1
+1
Jacques Philippe Marie Binet showed that the angular momentum vector lies on the intersection of a sphere and an ellipsoid. The angular velocity along the principal axis of a freely rotating rigid body is described by Euler's equations from the point of view of an observer rotating with the body, a motion known as nutation (as in the case of a top). The angular velocity vector is a constant of motion viewed from the body system.