Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2007 / ia / Paper 4 / 12C / iii / Solution

Write ${\mathbf{r}}_i=\mathbf{X}+{\mathbf{r}}_i^{\prime }$ and ${\mathbf{v}}_i=\mathbf{V}+{\mathbf{v}}_i^{\prime }$, where $\mathbf{V}=\dot{\mathbf{X}}$. The definition of the centre of mass and its derivative giveExpand the total angular momentum:The two middle terms vanish. Thus the angular momentum decomposition about the centre of mass isThe first term is orbital angular momentum of the centre; the second is angular momentum about the centre of mass.