AIM OF THE EXPERIMENT: To show that the centre of gravity is the point that determines the balance of a body.
MATERIALS: string (30 cm), a metre-long wooden strip, a hammer (preferably with a wooden handle).
MATERIALS: string (30 cm), a metre-long wooden strip, a hammer (preferably with a wooden handle).
Изображение
METHOD:
Tie the ends of the string together in a knot.
Pass the strip and the hammer through the loop.
Lay the strip on the edge of the table by its free end. The end of the hammer's handle must rest against the strip, and its head must hang below the table.
Find a position of the hammer in which the whole arrangement — the strip and the hammer tied to it by the string — is balanced.
RESULTS: Everything balances when less than half of the strip is on the table.
WHY? The strip, the string and the hammer are a single structure with a common centre of gravity. The centre of gravity is the point at which the weight of the whole construction is applied. In the picture the dotted line shows you where the centre of gravity is. The heavy end of the hammer balances the handle, which lies to the left of the point of balance.
Pass the strip and the hammer through the loop.
Lay the strip on the edge of the table by its free end. The end of the hammer's handle must rest against the strip, and its head must hang below the table.
Find a position of the hammer in which the whole arrangement — the strip and the hammer tied to it by the string — is balanced.
RESULTS: Everything balances when less than half of the strip is on the table.
WHY? The strip, the string and the hammer are a single structure with a common centre of gravity. The centre of gravity is the point at which the weight of the whole construction is applied. In the picture the dotted line shows you where the centre of gravity is. The heavy end of the hammer balances the handle, which lies to the left of the point of balance.
Video of the experiment
The original video is on the site