Thursday, February 26, 2009
The center of gravity is a geometric property of any object. The center of gravity is the average location of the weight of an object.
Determining the center of gravity is very important for any flying object. But how do engineers determine the location of the center of gravity for an aircraft which they are designing? Anyone?
In general, determining the center of gravity (cg) is a complicated procedure because the mass (and weight) may not be uniformly distributed throughout the object. If the mass is uniformly distributed, the problem is greatly simplified. If the object has a line (or plane) of symmetry, the cg lies on the line of symmetry.
For a general shaped object, there is a simple mechanical way to determine the center of gravity:
- If we just balance the object using a string or an edge, the point at which the object is balanced is the center of gravity. (Just like balancing a pencil on your finger!)
If the mass of the object is not uniformly distributed, we must use calculus to determine center of gravity.
Jasley was here @
4:24 PM
