If two objects orbit each other and collapse into a single object, what happens to the angular momentum?

When two objects orbit each other and eventually collapse into a single object, the principle of conservation of angular momentum comes into play. Angular momentum is a conserved quantity in a closed system where no external torques are acting.

As the two objects orbit around their common center of mass, they possess angular momentum dependent on their masses and the distance between them. When they collapse into a single object, the system remains isolated, meaning that no external forces or torques are influencing it.

The total angular momentum before the collapse must equal the total angular momentum after the collapse. Although the individual contributions of each object may change as they combine, the overall angular momentum remains constant throughout the process. Therefore, the resulting single object will retain the total angular momentum that the two objects possessed when they were separate.

This conservation of angular momentum is a fundamental principle in physics, ensuring that the total angular momentum of an isolated system does not change over time.