Centre of Mass

• Would you lift a 25 kg sack of rice by the end? Would you push a table across a room by using a
corner?
• Despite appearing simple, the questions point out something we take for granted: even though
every part of an object has a mass, there is a section that the mass seems to be ‘concentrated’.
• This is called the centre of mass and is defined as the point at which the entire mass of a body
may be considered to act.
• It is also the point at which an applied force produces acceleration without rotation.

The centre of gravity is the point at which the entire weight of a body can be considered to act.
• Usually the centre of mass and centre of gravity coincide.
• While this means they may occur at the same point the terms refer to two different physical
quantities (mass and weight) and cannot be used interchangeably.
• The centre of gravity (c.g.) of a uniform regular shape or object can be easily determined using
geometric construction and mathematical calculations, for example, the centre of gravity of a
rectangle is the point of intersection of its two diagonals.
• Similarly, the centre of gravity of a cube is the geometric centre of the object.
• In some cases however, the c.g. is not as easily determined as shown below:

Determining the Centre of Mass (or Gravity) of a Plane Lamina

• A lamina is a uniform flat object. To determine the centre of mass we use the following steps:

1. Drill three holes close to the edges of the lamina at about 120° angles to each other.

2. Suspend the lamina from each hole using an optical pin. Use a plumbline to determine a straight
vertical line from the hole. Draw this line.

3. Repeat step 2 using the two remaining holes

4. The point of coincidence (intersection) of the lines is the centre of mass (or gravity)

Using a triangular lamina with vertices A, B and C

Stability
A body is considered unstable if its centre of mass acts outside its base.
This means that there is a net moment and the body topples.

An object will position itself in such a way that it is most stable.

This is achieved primarily by two means:

1. Low centre of mass (or centre of gravity)

2. Wide base area

1. Low centre of mass – this means that most of the mass (and therefore its weight) of the object is
positioned near the ground.

The object is therefore unlikely to fall over if it is slightly displaced by pulling or pushing.

Common examples:

1. Double-decker buses are made of two halves; the lower half is made of steel and the top is made of
aluminium which has a considerably lower density. This means that the centre of mass of the whole bus
is near the base because steel is the heavier material. The passengers on the upper deck do not stand –
this lowers the centre of mass of each passenger and consequently the bus is more stable.

2. Racing cars are very low – this allows them to have a very low centre of mass and these cars rarely
overturn even at high speeds (sometimes about 250 km/h!) while it is easy for large vehicles to overturn
and roll over.

3. The foundation and lower sections of a skyscraper (very tall building) is made of materials with a
higher density than the material used to make the upper sections.

4. In contact sports such as rugby and American football, when a player gets into a ‘hit’ they crouch; this
lowers their c.g. and makes them less likely to fall over in contact.

5. Wide base area – this does two things:

1. Distributes the mass (and weight) of the object at a low height above the ground, that is, ‘lowers’ the
centre of mass.

2. A wide base area means that even when an object is displaced by a pull or push, it is unlikely that the
centre of mass acts outside the base and so it will return to its original position when the force is
removed.

Common examples:

1. Racing cars have wide tyres; this increases the base area of the car and so the c.g. rarely acts outside
the bas and the cars rarely overturn. On the other hand professional cyclist use bicycles with very thin
tyres and can easy fall over is pushed or pulled.

2. As we walk, we set our feet a certain distance apart. This allows us not to be just steady but sturdy.
This improves our balance and enhances stability hence walking in a perfect straight line with one step
directly in front of the other, for example, on a tightrope proves to be a very difficult task.

A triangle is a plane shape which best illustrates the concept of stability:

1. When it rests on one of its sides it is stable: this is because it sits on a wide base and has a low centre
of gravity. If it is slightly displaced it returns to its original position as long at the line of weight acts
inside the base

2. If the displacement is such that the triangle sits on one of its vertices, it becomes unstable. This is
because the centre of gravity is high and the shape has a very small base area. Any push or pull causes
the weight to act outside the ‘base’ and the body topples.

A unique example is of an object that is neither stable nor unstable. Such a state is called neutral
equilibrium. Using a sphere as an example,

1. The centre of mass is the same height above the ground at all times

2. The weight always acts through the base

These facts mean a sphere, or a cylinder lying on its side cannot topple over and is always in equilibrium.