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inigma said:
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narf poit chez BOOM said:
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It would take more energy for it to spin slower, and more mass for it to spin faster.
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...Did I miss some basic physics here? Last time I checked, heavier things need more energy to move, and more energy makes things go faster.
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Mass and energy convert between one or the other. The thing with gravity is, you need mass not energy.
Since I believe the spin of a body in space is naturally dependent on mass, by adding mass the spin would increase. By adding energy (which cancels out mass) spin would decrease.
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Heck no.
E = MC^2, remember? Increasing energy -> increasing mass (by a very small amount since c^2 is huge)
The angular momentum of a body depends on its shape, mass and spin rate.
If you make the object smaller it spins faster since the angular momentum must be conserved.
If you add mass without changing the angular momentum, the body will be spinning slower because there is only so much momentum to go around.
The spin of an asteroid is essentially random as the tiny rocks whang it from random directions at random speeds. However there is an upper limit to how fast they could be spinning, since they are generally not solid bodies.
If they spin too fast then rocks on the surface will be swung off by the centrifugal force, and the asteroid breaks up.