Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge 2021 Paper 1 Section A A2 Solution 2026-10-18
The principal moments of inertia are the eigenvalues of the symmetric inertia tensor. In units of , its characteristic determinant isTherefore the requested algebraic answer isAn orthonormal basis of principal axes is , , and ; the last two span the degenerate eigenspace and may be replaced by any orthonormal basis of it.
There is a physical inconsistency in calling the supplied matrix a rigid body's inertia tensor. The moment-of-inertia triangle inequalities require each principal moment to be no greater than the sum of the other two. Here . In principal coordinates, cannot be negative for a nonnegative mass distribution. Thus the eigenvalue calculation is well defined, but no ordinary rigid mass distribution realizes this tensor. The positive second-moment matrix test for an inertia tensor makes the same obstruction explicit.