Motion of the center of mass

Learning objectives

To illustrate the distinctive features of the center of mass while studying the motion of a rigid body.
To get a stroboscopic view of the parabolic free fall of a body.

A hammer is thrown up in the air. A stroboscope illuminates the hammer at uniform time intervals when you select "stroboscopy".
The trajectory of a particular point A can be plotted. It is also possible to move this point on the hammer to highlight the specific case of the center of mass (also known as center of inertia or center of gravity).

The shape of the path is complex except for a very specific point: The center of mass.