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There are three: the three Cartesian vector components of momentum. So momentum is the thing that is conserved because our laws must not change if we slide our co-ordinate origins around! … As an aside: we can go further: angular momentum (the "spinning analogue" of momentum which you'll likely learn about in a year or two) is conserved because our physical laws must give us the same outcomes …

I don't think your question can be answered without looking in detail at the engineering mechanics of the tyres, bearing friction and losses in any skid. The centripetal force for an object is norma …

At staging, significant change in momentum / trajectory of the payload-bearing stages can only arise from high impulse transfer between the payload bearing and jettisoned stage; this statement is a reformulation … of conservation of momentum. …

This is a good question: after some thought, I can't think of a more "everyday" or "intuitive" explanation than the following. Once you know Huygens' Principle, you can reason the convergence / diver …

So as in the other answers, you can only change a body's motion state by having it transfer the change of momentum to you since the total system's momentum has to be conserved; you feel this transfer of … For me, this is the deepest meaning for momentum, as I describe further in my answer to the Physics SE question What is momentum really?. …

Conservation of momentum is simply an inductively reasoned hypothesis to summarize certain patterns in experimental data. … As I discuss in my answer to the Physics SE question "What is Momentum, Really?" …

Then the "fundamental" answer to your question is "because light has zero rest mass"; to explain further: the 4-momentum norm relationship: $$\frac{E^2}{c^2} - p^2 = m^2 c^2\tag{1}$$ implies a linear relationship … There are several alternatives: You are truly measuring the beam's total energy, in which case, somewhat counter intuitively, you would find you would need a higher energy to produce a given momentum …

this question begins and ends with the canonical commutation relationship (CCR), the ubiquitous $[\hat{X},\,\hat{P}]=i\,\hbar\,\mathrm{id}$ where of course $\hat{X}$ and $\hat{P}$ are the position and momentum … space wherein: $$\begin{array}{lcl}\hat{X} f(x) &=& x\,f(x)\\ \hat{P} f(x) &=& -i\,\hbar\,\mathrm{d}_x\,f(x)\end{array}$$ This being so, if we want to transform to a co-ordinate system wherein the momentum …

A Community Wiki Answer to capture another User James Large's most excellent summary made in the comment: Two key words to take away from the answers below are stress and strain. Good words to sea …

This is a follow on question from Physics SE Question "Can a Skydiver Land On a Large Slide and Survive?". User Steeven gives this answer here. User Dargscisyhp asks: What is it exactly that …

We then define the conserved charges for spatial and temporal translation as momentum and energy, respectively; angular momentum is the conserved Noether charge corresponding to invariance of a Lagrangian … (be it mechanical, elecromagnetic or a even a nonphysical financial system) and whether or not the "momentum" correspond in the slightest to the mechanical notion of momentum or whether or not the quantity …

It is not that simple. Injury arises from a variation of acceleration with position over parts of the body. In the case of a fall, when the first part of you hits the ground (say your feet) and stops …

You apply the momentum conservation notion by equating the increase in the rocket's forwards momentum with the momentum of the fuel thrown backwards. … Momentum conservation is then $$v_e\,\mathrm{d}m = (m - \mathrm{d} m)\,\mathrm{d} v\quad\Leftrightarrow \frac{v_e}{m} = \frac{\mathrm{d} v}{\mathrm{d}m}$$ which is the Tsiolkovsky equation. …

Further to Damon Blevins's pithy answer, you need to be stating what an inertial frame is, so that you can measure your acceleration. A practical answer: you carry with you an accelerometer, and if th …

Your analysis will need to be a combination of theory and experiment. You are not maximizing impulse alone: you need to think about drag as well. So you need to think about the shape of your rocket a …