STATICS

STATICS -- the study of how objects behave, when they are NOT accelerating. Whether that means
they’re standing completely still, or moving at a CONSTANT velocity.

Statics can tell you a lot about the way things behave, when you’re trying to balance them, or when
they’re being COMPRESSED or STRETCHED.

stress, and strain and pressure – affects an object at rest

Objects that aren’t accelerating are said to be in EQUILIBRIUM. It means that there can be forces ON an
object, but there can’t be NET forces on it. FNet = zero.

Torque affects equilibrium too, since an object in equilibrium, can’t have rotational acceleration, either.

*There can be torques on an object in equilibrium, but there can’t be NET torques on it. TNet = zero

*All of this means that for an object to be in equilibrium, all the forces and torques on it have to balance
out.

A classic example of forces and torques cancelling each other out, is a ladder leaning against a wall.

The ladder isn’t accelerating -- or even moving -- so it must be in equilibrium. But how much force is
there on the ladder, from both the wall and the floor? Let’s say we know that the bottom of the ladder is
3m from the wall, the top of the ladder is 4m from the floor, the ladder itself is 5m long, and it has a
mass of 10kg. The first thing we got to do is draw a free-body diagram.

First, the force of gravity, mg, is pulling down, on the center of the ladder. And the force from the wall
has only one component -- it’s pushing sideways on the ladder. Meanwhile, the force from the floor has
two components: one pushing UP on the ladder, equal and opposite to the force of gravity; and one
pushing on the ladder toward the wall, equal and opposite to the force FROM the wall.

Let’s talk about the force from the wall first. We don’t know how strong it is. But we can figure that out,
by thinking about the torques acting on the ladder. The ladder isn’t rotating, so any torques on it have to
add up to zero. And we know from our previous lessons that torque is caused by a force applied at a
distance from an axis. So, if we choose the point where the ladder touches the floor as our axis, we can
see that there are two forces applying a torque to the ladder. In this case, the ladder is leaning to the
RIGHT to meet the wall, so the force of gravity is applying a clockwise torque. And the force from the
wall is applying a counterclockwise torque. And we know that both of those torques equal each other,
because the net torque on the ladder is zero. The torque from gravity is equal to the ladder’s weight,
times the perpendicular distance from our axis to the center of the ladder -- and that’s 147 Newton
meters. Meaning that the torque from the WALL is also 147 Newton meters, in the opposite direction.
Divide that by the vertical distance from where the ladder hits the wall to our axis of rotation, and we
get 36.8 Newtons: the force from the wall on the ladder. That’s half of the problem done! But what
about the force on the ladder from the floor? Like we said, there are two components of the force from
the floor: horizontal and vertical. The horizontal component will be equal to the force from the wall --
so, 36.8 Newtons. And the vertical component will be equal to the ladder’s weight -- so, 98 Newtons.
We’ve already talked about how to find the total magnitude of a force from its components -- you
square the components, add the results, then take the square root of that number. Meaning that the
total force from the floor on the ladder is 105 Newtons.

And generally, whatever happens will be one of three main things:

 First, you can apply just enough force that the object will either stretch or compress, but still
spring back -- in that case, the force is in a range known as the material’s elastic zone.
 But if you apply a little too much force, the object might become permanently deformed --
meaning, the force has reached what’s called the plastic zone.
 And apply WAY too much force, and you’ll get to the breaking point -- otherwise known as
fracture.
*Ideally, engineers want to make sure that the objects they use to build things, like support beams, stay
within the range of Option Number One: the elastic zone.

How an object’s shape changes based on the amount of force that’s being applied to it and the amount
that an object stretches or compresses depends on a few different factors:

 First, there’s the original length of the object. The longer it is, the more it will stretch or
compress.
 The strength of the applied force also matters. More force means more stretching or
compressing.
 Then there’s the area of a cross-section of this object. Basically, the thicker it is, the less it will
STRETCH or compress.
 Finally, there’s the type of material itself. Wood, steel, aluminum, granite -- they’re all going to
have different amounts of elasticity.

Young’s modulus - a number represented by a capital E, that tells how hard it is to stretch or compress a
given material, based on that material’s stiffness.

- The higher Young’s modulus is, for a certain material, the less ELASTIC it is.

The Young's modulus (E) is a property of the material that tells us how easily it can stretch and deform
and is defined as the ratio of tensile stress (σ) to tensile strain (ε). Where stress is the amount of force
applied per unit area (σ = F/A) and strain is extension per unit length (ε = dl/l).

σ F/A
E= ε = ∆ l/l o

something that’s being stretched or compressed depends on:

its original length, the force you apply, its cross-sectional area, and Young’s modulus.

Stress is the force on an object, divided by its cross-sectional area -- basically, that F over A term.

Strain is the object’s change in length, divided by its original length.

This equation, and Young’s modulus, apply for two types of stress:

 tensile stress, which stretches objects out, and compressive stress, which compresses them.

But sometimes the forces you apply to objects aren’t just compressing or stretching.

For example: you could also apply what’s known as shear stress, the way an object deforms under shear
stress depends on the same kinds of factors that are involved when you compress or stretch something.

Like, if the original length were longer -- meaning you had a thicker, taller book: That would mean more
sliding. More force? More sliding. More area perpendicular to the force -- in other words, a book with
bigger pages? Less sliding.

And then there’s the inherent slidy-ness of the material, that the object is made of,

which we call the shear modulus (G).

τ shear stress F/ A
G= γ = shear strain = ∆ x /l

where ∆x/l = tanθ

The higher its shear modulus, the less the object will deform.

*The only differences are that the original length, area, and change in length represent different parts of
the object, and that we use a different modulus.
But we have one last type of shape-change to consider: shrinking! This is what happens if you apply a
force to all the parts of an object at once -- say, by putting it in water.

The more volume the object originally had, the more it’ll shrink -- In other words, the more its volume
will change.

When we’re talking about something submerged in a fluid, we give a different name to the force divided
by area. And instead of stress, we call it pressure, the more pressure you apply to an object, the more it
will shrink.

Finally, some materials are more resistant to changes in volume -- and that stiffness is measured by the
bulk modulus (B).

Combined, these factors form an equation you can use to predict how much an object will shrink.

∆P
B=- ∆ v /v

*The minus sign tells that an increase in pressure causes a decrease in volume.

Summary:

So now you know the three main ways that forces affect an object’s shape: changing its length --
through tensile and compressive stress, deforming it through shear stress, and changing its volume
through pressure. And hopefully, now you also have a better understanding of all the thought that goes
into making sure buildings and bridges stay up.

Today, you learned that the net force and torque on an object in equilibrium, must equal zero, and you
saw how you can use that fact to calculate individual forces and torques.

We also talked about the way objects deform under tensile, compressive, and shear stress, as well as
pressure.
 FLUIDS AT REST

Fluids - is a liquid, gas, or other material that continuously deforms (flows) under an applied shear
stress, or external force. They have zero shear modulus, or, in simpler terms, are substances which
cannot resist any shear force applied to them.

Classifications of Fluids:

Real Fluids – have some viscosity – there is internal friction among their molecules

Ideal Fluids – no viscous forces exerted on them – do not have frictional forces among their molecules,
viscosity = 0.

Properties of Fluids:

1. Compressibility – the change in a volume of a fluid when subjected to pressure.

2. Viscosity – the resistance of a moving object to shear
3. Density – mass quantity contained in a volume
4. Capillarity – differences in magnitude between the adhesion forces and the cohesion forces of a
liquid
- the tendency of a liquid in a capillary tube to rise or fall as a result of combined effects of
cohesion, adhesion, and surface tension.
5. Surface Tension – linked to cohesion and adhesion. Cohesion allows liquids to hold molecules
together due to the attraction between them, while adhesion allows them to adhere to other
bodies
- property of a liquid surface displayed by its acting as if it were a stretched elastic membrane.
6. Saturation or vapor pressure -

Hydrostatics – part of physics that studies fluids at rest or equilibrium—that is when there are no forces
that alter their motion or position

Qualities of Fluids:

density - represented in equations by the Greek letter rho ( ρ ).

- is the measurement of how tightly a material is packed together. It is defined as the mass per
unit volume.

m kg
ρ = V = m
3

pressure - the amount of force exerted per area

- fluids apply pressure in every direction (hydrostatic pressure)

F N
P = A = m
2 = Pascal (Pa)

pressure of fluid at a given depth:

P = ρgh ∆P = ρg ∆ h
*Pressure changes with the change in height or depth

Hydrostatic pressure – The pressure will be higher, as the fluid gets denser and at greater
depth.

- all points located at the same depth of the fluid have the same pressure, taking into account
that gravity is constant and equal to 9.8 m/s2.
 - as density increases, its pressure increases.

Communicating Vessel – two or more vessels connected at their base. Liquid in this vessel will be
distributed in such a way that the level of the liquid in all vessels will be the same, regardless of their
shape and capacities

- the points that are the same depth have the same hydrostatic pressure, thus all the liquid
columns above them must have the same height

Pascal's Principle states that when there is an increase in pressure at any point in a confined fluid, there
is an equal increase at every other point in the container. Pressure throughout the fluid is constant.

P – total pressure at depth h, measure in Pa

P = P0 +¿ ρgh P0 – pressure on the free surface of the fluid
ρ – density of the fluid
g – acceleration due to gravity
h - height

Archimedes’ Principle – states that a body immersed in a fluid experience an upthrust equal to the
weight of the fluid displaced, and this is fundamental to the equilibrium of a body floating in still water.
A body floating freely in still water experiences a downward force acting on it due to gravity.

E = ρ f g V f = mf g E = Force or thrust experienced by the

completely or partially submerged object
ρf – density of the fluid that is displaced by the object
Vf – volume of the fluid displaced of the submerged object
mf – mass of the displaced fluid
g – acceleration due to gravity

Buoyancy of a Body – there are two vertical forces acting on a submerged body: the weight (downward
force), and the thrust (upward force).

Specific gravity = determines the buoyancy of the body, it is weight divided by its volume

Three cases:

1. W>E = body sinks, specific gravity is greater than that of the liquid
2. W=E = body does not sink or emerge; specific weight of body is equal to that of fluid
3. W<E = body floats, specific weight of body is less than the liquid

Summary:
 FLUIDS IN MOTION

Hydrodynamics – also called fluid dynamics, is part of fluid mechanics and hydraulics that deals with the
study of fluids in motion and their behavior, considering among other things velocity, pressure, flow,
and fluid flow rate.

Equation of Continuity – proves law of conservation of mass in fluid dynamics

- when the end of a cross-sectional

ρ Av = constant area is reduced, the fluid velocity
increases

Mass Flow Rate – the mass of the fluid per second that flows through

- SI Unit is kg/s
ρ A1 v 1 = ρ A2 v 2

- if the fluid is
incompressible, the density will A1 v 1 = A2 v 2
remain constant for steady flow.
So, ρ1 = ρ2.

Av represents the volume of fluid per second (m3/s) that passes thru the tube and is referred to
as the volume flow rate Q.

Bernoulli’s Equation – pressure P, the fluid speed v, and the elevation y at any two points are related by:

1 2
P1 + ρv 1 + ρg y 1
2
= P2 + 12 ρv 22 + ρg y 2

Torricelli’s Theorem – If you have a container filled with fluid with small holes at the bottom of the
container, the fluid leaves through the hole with velocity same as it would experience if dropped from
the same height to the hole level. If the liquid is dropped from a height “h”, it would have a velocity v
and this “v” is the same velocity at which the liquid leaves the hole when the height of fluid “h” is same
as the liquid dropped in the container.

v = √ 2 gh

Summary:

m
1. ρ= mass density
V
density of substance
2. specific gravity = 3 3 specific gravity is mass density divided by the
1.000 ×10 kg /m
density of water at 4℃ (1.000 × 103 kg/m3)
F
3. Pressure (P) = 1 atm=1.013 ×105 Pa or 14.7 lb/in2
A
4. P2 = P1 + pgh Pressure and Depth in a Static Fluid
5. Mass flow rate = pAv Equation of Continuity
6. ρ1 A 1 v 1 = ρ2 A 2 v 2
7. A1 v 1 = A2 v 2 if a fluid is incompressible, density is same
8. Q = Volume flow rate = Av (m3/s)
9. Bernoulli’s Equation