Translational Kinetic Energy
The translational kinetic energy of a collection of masses
is given by
![$\displaystyle E_K \eqsp \frac{1}{2} M v_c^2
$](http://www.dsprelated.com/josimages_new/pasp/img2711.png)
![$ M=\sum_i m_i$](http://www.dsprelated.com/josimages_new/pasp/img2712.png)
![$ v_c$](http://www.dsprelated.com/josimages_new/pasp/img94.png)
![$ v_c\isdeftext \left\Vert\,\underline{v}_c\,\right\Vert$](http://www.dsprelated.com/josimages_new/pasp/img2713.png)
![$ \underline{v}_c$](http://www.dsprelated.com/josimages_new/pasp/img2704.png)
More generally, the total energy of a collection of masses (including distributed and/or rigidly interconnected point-masses) can be expressed as the sum of the translational and rotational kinetic energies [270, p. 98].
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Center of Mass