MacCullagh ellipsoid explained

The MacCullagh ellipsoid is defined by the equation:

(x ^{2})/(A) + (y ^{2})/(B) + (z ^{2})/(C) = 2 E,

where

E is the energy and x,y,z are the components of the angular momentum, given in body's principal reference frame, with corresponding principal moments of inertia A,B,C . The construction of such ellipsoid was conceived by James MacCullagh.^[1]

See also

• Dzhanibekov effect
• Poinsot's ellipsoid

Notes and References

1. On the Rotation of a Solid Body round a Fixed Point; being an account of the late Professor Mac Cullagh's Lectures on that subject. Compiled by the Rev. Samuel Haughton, Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin. [Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, Vol. xxii. p. 139. Read April 23, 1849.]