A spinning figure skater tucks her arms and legs closer to t

A spinning figure skater tucks her arms and legs closer to the axis of rotation while spinning. Her body rotates much faster in the tucked position than the non-tucked or extended position. This is an example of what physical law?

Solution

This is an excellent example of \'Law of conservation of angular momentum\', according to which : angular momentum of a body remans contant if no net external torque is acting on it.

In other words, I x W = constant . (I: moment of Inertia of body aboout the axis of spinning of skater here,
                                                         W: angular velocity of the skater about the axis)

In tucked position, the moment of inertia of the skater becomes less and to make the product constant, angualr velocity increases. (vise-versa)