Glossary
- center of gravity
- the point where the total weight of the body is assumed to be concentrated
- dynamic equilibrium
- a state of equilibrium in which the net external force and torque on a system moving with constant velocity are zero
- mechanical advantage
- the ratio of output to input forces for any simple machine
- neutral equilibrium
- a state of equilibrium that is independent of a system’s displacements from its original position
- perpendicular lever arm
- the shortest distance from the pivot point to the line along which [latex]\textbf{F}[/latex] lies
- SI units of torque
- newton times meters, usually written as N·m
- stable equilibrium
- a system, when displaced, experiences a net force or torque in a direction opposite to the direction of the displacement
- static equilibrium
- a state of equilibrium in which the net external force and torque acting on a system is zero
- static equilibrium
- equilibrium in which the acceleration of the system is zero and accelerated rotation does not occur
- torque
- turning or twisting effectiveness of a force
- unstable equilibrium
- a system, when displaced, experiences a net force or torque in the same direction as the displacement from equilibrium
“Glossary” from College Physics 2e by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
