Rotating Rotator I Tracks of three different four segmented rotators are seen in the foreground, as they proceeded from lower part of the image towards the upper The simplest rotator consists of two rigid bars pivoted together end to end. The bars are free to rotate around the pivot like the segments of an old-fashioned carpenter's ruler, only without the friction. If you throw such a rotator into the air, the segments will pivot around each other in nteresting ways, while the object as a whole flies smoothly through the air. if there are three or more segments, the pivoting is chaotic. First one segment may spin wildly, then all three segments may rotate as a unit, then perhaps the two end segments spin in opposite directions, etc. No matter how many segments there are, the wild rotations of the individual segments, together with the overall rotation as a whole, proceed independently of the smooth motion of what is called the"center of mass"of the object. The reason for this is that the rotator is acting only on itself. The forces, which cause the segments to rotate at different rates, are exerted by the rotator and not by some outside agent. if there is no outside agent, the center of mass moves uniformly, according to Newton's laws In Rotating Rotator l, the tracks of three dififerent four segmented rotators are seen in the foreground, as they proceeded from lower part of the image towards the upper In the background, more rotator paths are shown. The difference is that in the background three sets of rotators actually collided near the middle of the picture, leading to changes in the pattern of rotation and changes in the directions of the center of mass of each of the rotatorsRotating Rotator I Tracks of three different four segmented rotators are seen in the foreground, as they proceeded from lower part of the image towards the upper. The simplest rotator consists of two rigid bars pivoted together end to end. The bars are free to rotate around the pivot like the segments of an old-fashioned carpenter's ruler, only without the friction. If you throw such a rotator into the air, the segments will pivot around each other in interesting ways, while the object as a whole flies smoothly through the air. If there are three or more segments, the pivoting is chaotic. First one segment may spin wildly, then all three segments may rotate as a unit, then perhaps the two end segments spin in opposite directions, etc. No matter how many segments there are, the wild rotations of the individual segments, together with the overall rotation as a whole, proceed independently of the smooth motion of what is called the "center of mass" of the object. The reason for this is that the rotator is acting only on itself. The forces, which cause the segments to rotate at different rates, are exerted by the rotator and not by some outside agent. If there is no outside agent, the center of mass moves uniformly, according to Newton's laws. In Rotating Rotator I, the tracks of three different four segmented rotators are seen in the foreground, as they proceeded from lower part of the image towards the upper. In the background, more rotator paths are shown. The difference is that in the background three sets of rotators actually collided near the middle of the picture, leading to changes in the pattern of rotation and changes in the directions of the center of mass of each of the rotators