Centre of Mass We treat objects as point masses referring to a single point called the centre of mass.

In regular objects like a cube or a sphere, the centre of mass is in the middle. In some objects the centre of mass is outside the object.

The centre of mass (or centre of gravity) is the point through which the entire weight is said to act. Objects with a very low centre of gravity tend to be very stable. Some objects are so stable that they never fall over. Objects with a high centre of gravity are unstable.

Finding the centre of mass for irregular objects We can find the centre of mass of an irregular object quite easily. If we let it hang freely, the centre of mass is directly below where we hang it from. In old text books, an object like this is called an irregular lamina. (The word lamina is a Latin word for leaf.)

We draw a line vertically downwards. If we then hang the object from a couple of other points and draw the lines that go vertically downwards, the centre of mass is where the lines meet. When the object is hanging freely, the centre of mass is vertically below the hanging point. The vertical arrow is called the line of action of the weight.

Stability The position of the centre of gravity of an object affects its stability.

 The lower the centre of gravity (G) is, the more stable the object. The higher the centre of gravity (G) is, more likely the object is to topple over if it is pushed. Racing cars have really low centres of gravity so that they can corner rapidly without turning over. Increasing the area of the base will also increase the stability of an object, the bigger the area the more stable the object. Decreasing the height of the object will also increases the stability of an object, lesser the height, greater the stability

Buses must be tested to see that they do not tip over even if the bottom deck is empty and the top deck is full of people.

 In Figure 4(a) the car is flat on the road. In Figure 4(b) the car is tilted but because the vertical line through the centre of gravity is inside the case of the car and so the car falls back to the level again. But in Figure 4(c) the vertical line from the centre of gravity falls outside the base and so the car topples over.

Balancing and equilibrium

If an object is in equilibrium, i.e., if it is balanced, then if a force is applied to the object it will either tilt, tip over or roll. These three conditions are known as: (a) stable equilibrium (it tilts and then falls back to the original position, so centre of gravity will return back to its original position

(b) unstable equilibrium (it tilts and then falls over, In this case centre of gravity will not return back to its original position) (c) neutral equilibrium (it rolls, so centre of gravity will never change)

Stable the centre of gravity is raised as it is tilted Unstable the centre of gravity is lowered as it is tilted Neutral - the centre of gravity stays at the same level if it is pushed

The below figure shows why it is not a good idea to stand up and then lean over in a small boat. The high centre of gravity of the standing people makes it all too easy to tip the boat over!