The center of mass is the center of a system of masses, located at a point that is central in relation to the masses of all of the objects within the system. To describe the position of the center of mass, we use the equation$$\vec{r}_{CM} = \frac{\sum\limits_{i=0}^n m_i \vec{r}_i}{\sum\limits_{i=0}^n m_i}$$$$\vec{r}_{CM} = \frac{\sum\limits_{i=0}^n m_i \vec{r}_i}{M_{total}}$$
The velocity of the center of mass is the same thing, except finding velocity instead of position.$$\vec{v}_{CM} = \frac{\sum\limits_{i=0}^n m_i \vec{v}_i}{M_{total}}$$
If the velocity is very small compared to the speed of light, $\gamma = 1$ we can say that the total velocities and masses of the system are equal based off of the equation for momentum. This helps us find the momentum of the center of mass:$$\vec{p} = \gamma\times m\vec{v}$$$$\vec{p}_{sys} = M_{total}\vec{v}_{CM}$$$$\vec{p}_{sys} = \sum\limits_{i=0}^n m_i \vec{v}_i$$
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Sunday, March 17, 2013
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