Total Angular Momentum in an orbit

Question

I have just learned that the total angular momentum of a system is measured by adding the angular momentum of the Center of Mass and also the angular momentum of matter rotating around the Center of Mass. I wanted to check if my understanding was correct with the following question:
If the Earth stopped spinning around its axis, would the orbital radius around the sun increase slightly to conserve the angular momentum of the system?

Yejus · Answer

Yes, although note the underlying assumption: there is no net torque on the earth-sun system. Usually, the discussion ends here but in order for the earth to stop spinning, some external agent (outside of the system) must exert considerable torque on the earth. This invariably invalidates the assumption above, and the answer becomes indeterminate unless we know the torque exactly.

Answered by Yejus on July 7, 2021

Total Angular Momentum in an orbit

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