Rotational energy or
angular kinetic energy is
kinetic energy due to the
rotation of an object and is part of its total kinetic energy. Looking at rotational energy separately around an object's
axis of rotation, the following dependence on the object's
moment of inertia is observed:
where
- is the angular velocity
- is the moment of inertia around the axis of rotation
- is the kinetic energy
The
mechanical work required for / applied during rotation is the torque times the rotation angle. The instantaneous
power of an angularly accelerating body is the torque times the angular velocity. For free-floating (unattached) objects, the axis of rotation is commonly around its
center of mass.