Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: ACCELERATION



At 21:01 9/15/00 -0700, you wrote:
Only to the extent that all the forces act through the center of
mass, and that condition is seldom met for an extended body. Even the
center of gravity does not exactly coincide with the center of mass.

What is "the center of gravity"?

Tag, you're it!

Leigh


I imagine that this term, construed literally, is the point at which
a static force due to gravitational attraction may be modelled as acting.

Inevitably, it differs from the center of mass which could be described
as the point at which a particle of appropriately high density and
infinitesimal size exerts (many) equivalent dynamic effects of mass of an
extended object.

The difference of centers is assignable to the gravity gradient.

This is undoubtedly a point to gladden the heart of a nit-picker: such
fun to see people splutter about didactic simplifications,
blah, blah, blah!

:-)

brian whatcott <inet@intellisys.net> Altus OK
Eureka!