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according to some scale, to represent the magnitude of the vector, and the direction of the
EQUILIBRIUM
Equilibrium, in physics, the condition of a system when neither its state of motion nor
its internal energy state tends to change with time. A simple mechanical body is said to be
disturbed by an outside force, it will continue in that condition indefinitely. For a single particle,
equilibrium arises if the vector sum of all forces acting upon the particle is zero. A rigid body (by
equilibrium if, in addition to the states listed for the particle above, the vector sum of all torques
acting on the body equals zero so that its state of rotational motion remains constant. An
equilibrium is said to be stable if small, externally induced displacements from that state produce
forces that tend to oppose the displacement and return the body or particle to the equilibrium
equilibrium is unstable if the least departure produces forces that tend to increase the
VECTOR ADDITION
The head-to-tail method is a graphical way to add vectors, described in Figure 4 below and in the
steps following. The tail of the vector is the starting point of the vector, and the head (or tip) of a
protractor.
Step 2. Now draw an arrow to represent the second vector (5 blocks to the north). Place the tail
Step 3. If there are more than two vectors, continue this process for each vector to be added.
Note that in our example, we have only two vectors, so we have finished placing arrows tip to
tail.
Step 4. Draw an arrow from the tail of the first vector to the head of the last vector. This is
Step 5. To get the magnitude of the resultant, measure its length with a ruler. (Note that in most
Step 6. To get the direction of the resultant, measure the angle it makes with the reference frame
using a protractor. (Note that in most calculations, we will use trigonometric relationships to
drawings can be made and the precision of the measuring tools. It is valid for any number of
vectors.
VECTOR SUBTRACTION
any vector has the same magnitude but the opposite direction, as shown in Figure 13. In other
words, B has the same length as –B, but points in the opposite direction. Essentially, we just flip
Note that vector subtraction is the addition of a negative vector. The order of subtraction does
A – B = A + (-B)
This is analogous to the subtraction of scalars (where, for example, 5 – 2 = 5 + (–2)). Again, the
result is independent of the order in which the subtraction is made. When vectors are subtracted
VECTOR COMPONENTS
In a two-dimensional coordinate system, any vector can be broken into x -component and y
-component.
v⃗=⟨vx,vy⟩
For example, in the figure shown below, the vector v⃗ is broken into two components, vx and vy.
The vector and its components form a right angled triangle as shown below.
In the above figure, the components can be quickly read. The vector in the component form
is v⃗ =⟨4,5⟩v→=⟨4,5⟩
In this example we will be adding the two vectors shown below using the component method.
The vectors we will be adding are displacement vectors, but the method is the same with any