Torque and Equilibrium Simulation Exercise. Lab Reports
So far, we’ve treated angular motion as an extension of the laws of physics. That’s true, but there’s another concept hiding in here: equilibrium. Equilibrium is how physics refers to the idea of balance. When two or more forces or two or more torques are perfectly balanced, we would say that the system is in mechanical equilibrium. You’ve probably experienced this when you were younger without even realizing it: think back to when you played with your friends and/or siblings on a see-saw and how you had to adjust where you were sitting to bring the see-saw into balance. In physics speak, as gravity pulled you down, you and your friend were exerting a torque on opposite-sides of the see-saw. If you weren’t close to the same weight, you had to adjust where you sat to bring the system into equilibrium.
OBJECTIVES:
– Understand how force relates to torque.
– Explore the concept of equilibrium.
– Predict when two separate torques will be in balance.
MATERIALS
* Personal computer with internet access capable of running HTML5