Centre of Mass

Definition:

The centre of mass of the system is defined as the point in space, so that moment of the mass of the
system about a reference point (origin), when whole of the system is supposed to be concentrated
at it (centre of mass) is equal to the vector sum of the momenta of the masses, of individual particles
around the reference point.

If is the position vector of the centre of mass,

Or,

Here, M = mass of the body.

The centre of mass after removal of a part of a body

If a portion of a body is taken out, the remaining portion may be considered as, original mass (M) -mass of
the removed part (m)

= {Original mass (M)} + {- mass of the removed part (m)}

The formula changes to:

X (cm) = (Mx-mx') / (M-m) and Y (cm) = (My-my') / (M-m)

Where primed ones represent the coordinate of the C.M. of the removed part.

Continuous system:

For a continuous distribution of mass, we can treat an element of mass dm at any position as a
point mass and replace the summation by integration as shown below:

Rcm = 1/M x dm
So, we get Xcm = 1/M x dm
Ycm = 1/M y dm
Zcm = 1/M z dm,
Motion of Centre of Mass

Vcm = m1v1+m2v2/m1+m2

Differentiating again, we can generate an expression for acceleration:

acm = m1a1+m2a2/m1+m2

So, (m1+m2) acm = m1a1+m2a2

Fcm = F1+ F2 + .

Here, Fcm = M (acm)

Here M is the total mass of the system.

Hence the total mass of the system times the acceleration of its centre of mass is equal to vector
sum of all the forces acting on the group of particles.

A rigid body is said to be in equilibrium if the forces acting on it do not change its state of rest or of
uniform motion (linear or rotational).

This means if a body is at rest it should remain at rest. If the body is in motion, it should keep on
moving with uniform velocity (may be linear or angular). Accordingly the equilibrium is classified
into following two categories:

(a) Translatory equilibrium

A body is said to be in translatory equilibrium if its centre of mass possess no linear acceleration
in an inertial frame of reference. For a body to be in translatory equilibrium the basic condition is
that the vector sum of all the external forces acting on the body should be zero. In such case a
body at rest will remain at rest. This equilibrium is static equilibrium. A body moving with uniform
velocity, along a straight line, will keep on doing so. This equilibrium is termed as dynamic
translatory equilibrium.
(b) Rotatory equilibrium

A body is said to be in rotatory equilibrium if it possesses no angular acceleration about any axis
in an inertial frame.

For the body to be in rotatory equilibrium the basic condition is that the vector sum of all the external
torques acting on the body is zero.

For a body to be in equilibrium is must satisfy both the conditions stated above simultaneously, i.e.

(a) The vector sum of all the external forces acting on the body should vanish.

(b) The vector sum of all the external torque acting on the body should vanish.

Types of equilibrium.

Equilibrium can be classified into three categories

(a) Stable equilibrium

The equilibrium of a body is said to stable if, on being slightly disturbed, it tends to come back to
its original position.

(b) Unstable equilibrium

The body is said to be in unstable equilibrium if on being slightly disturbed, it shows no tendency
to come back to its original position and moves away from it.

(c) Neutral equilibrium

A body is said to be in neutral equilibrium if on being slightly displaced, it remains in the new
position.

Condition for stable equilibrium

The degree of stability of the body depends upon the height of the centre of gravity of the body from the
surface of support. Smaller the height of centre of gravity, greater is its stability.

(a) The vertical drawn from centre of gravity should pass through the base.

(b) The centre of gravity should be as low as possible.

(c) The base should be as wide as possible.