7 Module Equilibrium
7 Module Equilibrium
7 Module Equilibrium
EQUILIBRIUM
Equilibrium – Balanced
In physics, the condition of a system when neither its state of motion nor its internal
energy state tends to change with time. A simple mechanical body is said equilibrium of
it experiences neither linear acceleration nor angular acceleration; unless it is disturbed
by an outside force, it will continue in that condition indefinitely.
For a single particle, equilibrium arises if the vector sum of all forces acting upon the
particle is zero. A rigid body (by definition distinguished from a particle in having the
property of extension) is considered to be in equilibrium if, in addition to the states listed
for the particle above, the vector sum of all torques acting on the body equals zero so
that its state of rotational motion remains constant.
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MODULE OF INSTRUCTION_________________________________NSCI-6100 Physics for Engineers 1
If an object is at equilibrium, then the forces are balanced. Balanced is the key word that
is used to describe equilibrium situations. Thus, the net force is zero and the acceleration
is 0 m/s/s. Objects at equilibrium must have an acceleration of 0 m/s/s. This extends from
Newton's first law of motion. But having an acceleration of 0 m/s/s does not mean the
object is at rest. An object at equilibrium is either ...
The state of the object is analyzed in terms of the forces acting upon the object.
The object is a point on a string upon which three forces were acting. See diagram at
right. If the object is at equilibrium, then the net force acting upon the object should be
0 Newton. Thus, if all the forces are added together as vectors, then the resultant force
(the vector sum) should be 0 Newton.
(Recall that the net force is "the vector sum of all the forces" or the resultant of
adding all the individual forces head-to-tail.) Thus, an accurately drawn vector addition
diagram can be constructed to determine the resultant.
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The First Condition of Equilibrium is that the vector sum of all the forces acting on a body
vanishes. This can be written as
F = F1+ F2 + F3 + F4 + . . . = 0
where ,the Greek letter sigma, again means the summation of whatever follows -- the
summation of the forces, in this case.
However, remember the following:
Ensure that you have included all the forces. This means carefully draw a free body
diagram. Include gravity (the weight) and all contact forces.
Remember that forces are vectors. That means that the first condition of
equilibrium, really means;
F 0
Fx 0 Fy 0
An object in equilibrium does not move along a straight line -- it does not translate
-- that means the sum of all the forces on it is zero. That was the first condition of
equilibrium. But an object in equilibrium also does not rotate. That means the sum of all
the rotational forces on it is also zero. The sum of all the torques on an object is
equilibrium is zero.
This is the Second Condition of Equilibrium. Tor ques that would rotate an object
counter clockwise may be taken as positive and torques that would rotate an object
clockwise may be taken as negative. Then we can write this Second Condition of
Equilibrium as
0
or we can calculate the sum of the clockwise torques and set them equal to the sum of
the counterclockwise torques. Then we can write this Second Condition of Equilibrium
as
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MODULE OF INSTRUCTION_________________________________NSCI-6100 Physics for Engineers 1
Example Problems
1.) An object weighing 100lb and suspended by a rope A, is pilled aside by a horizontal
rope B s that rope A makes angle 30°with the vertical, find the tensions I the ropes A and
B.
A free body diagram is sketch of isolated body which shows only the forces acting
upon the body.
2.) A 15kg box is to be supported by wire A at an angle of 35°withe the horizontal and a
second wire B. Tension in wire A is safety limited to 60N to place the box in equilibrium
at the position shown
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x 0
TBx Tax 0
TBx 60 cos 25
TBX 49.15 0
TBx 49.15 N
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Exercise:
Static Equilibrium
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References:
Book
Weber et al. College Physics, Fifth Edition. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York
St. Louis San Francisco
Web
Calculus-Based Physics 1
https://textbookequity.org/Textbooks/Schnick_CalculusBasedphysics.pdf
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