Concepts

Centre-of-mass

Overview

An irregular object is suspended from two different points. In stable equilibrium, the centre of mass lies below the point of suspension. By drawing a vertical line through the object in both position, the centre of gravity can be found as the intersection of the two lines.

The object can also be thrown to show that the centre-of-mass falls in a parabolic trajectory.

Details

Equipment

• [1] Object L
• [1] Ruler

Script

1. Suspend the object from one point and let it settle to an equilibrium.
2. Draw a vertical line from the point of suspension.
3. Suspend the object from another point.
4. Draw the second vertical line.
5. Point out that the intersection of the two lines is the centre of mass of the object.

Additional Resources