CENTER OF MASS
AND
LINEAR MOMENTUM
Centres of
mass
The centre of mass of a body is the point at which the weight acts.
This point can be located for one, two, and three dimensional objects and
composite bodies.
Sometimes the centre of mass of a uniform body can be found by symmetry.
In general, we use moments to determine the position of the centre of mass.
The positions of the centres of mass of certain bodies are given as formulae,
which can be applied without working.
Centre of Mass
Centre of Mass is the point of anybody where all the mass of the body is
concentrated.
For the sake of convenience in Newtonian Physics, we take the body as the point
object where all its mass is concentrated at the centre of mass of the body.
The centre of mass of the body is a point that can be on the body such as in the case
of a Circular sheet, rectangle sheet, sphere, etc, and can also be outside the body
such as in the case of a ring, hollow sphere, etc.
Centre of Mass
The Centre of Mass of a system is that one point where any uniform
force is acted upon the object. It is important to find the Centre of Mass
of objects as it makes it easy to solve the Mechanics' problems in order
to describe the Motion of complicated and oddly shaped objects.
A ball is tossed into the air without much
spin on the ball.
Its motion is simple—it follows a
parabolic path
The ball can be treated as a particle.
Figure shows a baseball bat flipped into the air.
Motion is more complicated. Because every part of the
bat moves differently, along paths of many different
shapes
The bat cannot be represented as a particle.
It it is a system of particles each of which follows its own
path through the air.
However, the bat has one special point—the center of
mass—that does move in a simple parabolic path.
The other parts of the bat move around the center of mass.
The Center of Mass
We define the center of mass (com) of a system of particles (such as a
person) in order to predict the possible motion of the system
The center of mass of a system of particles is the point that moves
as though
(1) all of the system’s mass were concentrated there and
(2) all external forces were applied there.
Systems of Particles
We define the position of the center of mass (com) of this two-particle
system to be
We have arbitrarily chosen the origin of an x
axis to coincide with the particle of mass m1.
COM of Systems of Particles
The subscript i is an index that takes on all integer
values from 1 to n
If the particles are distributed in three dimensions, the center of mass
must be identified by three coordinates
We can also define the center of mass with the language of vectors.
Position of a particle at coordinates xi , yi , and zi is given by a position vector:
where again M is the total mass
of the system.
Solid Bodies
An ordinary object, such as a baseball bat, contains so many particles (atoms) that
we can it as a continuous distribution of matter.
The “particles” then become differential mass elements dm,
Coordinates of the center of mass are defined as
where M is now the mass of the object
Solid Bodies
Uniform objects have uniform density, or mass per unit volume; that is, the density r
r is the same for any given element of an object as for the whole object.
where
dV is the volume occupied by a mass element dm, and
V is the total volume of the object.
Symmetry
The center of mass of a uniform cone (whose axis is a line of symmetry) lies on
the axis of the cone
Symmetry
Center of mass of a uniform sphere (which has a point of symmetry) is
at the center of the sphere (which is the point of symmetry).
Three particles of masses m1 = 1.2 kg, m2 = 2.5 kg, and m3 = 3.4 kg form an
equilateral triangle of edge length a = 140 cm. Where is the center of mass
of this system?
We are dealing
with particles
instead of an
extended solid
body
Newton’s Second Law for a System of Particles
Consider only the motion of the center of
mass of the assemblage
Center of mass is just a point, it moves like a
particle whose mass is equal to the total mass
of the system; we can assign a position, a
velocity, and an acceleration to it.
Motion of the com of three particles
The three particles in Fig. 9-7a are initially
at rest. Each experiences an external force
due to bodies outside the three-particle
system. The directions are indicated, and
the magnitudes are F1 = 6.0 N, F2 = 12 N,
and F3 = 14 N. What is the acceleration of
the center of mass of the system, and in
what direction does it move? Fig. 9-7a
Motion of the com of three particles
Calculations: We can now apply Newton’s second law
and the angle (from the positive direction of the x axis)
(b) The forces are
now transferred to
the center of mass
of the system,
which behaves
like a particle
with a mass M
equal to the total
mass of the
system.
Linear Momentum
The linear momentum of a particle is a vector quantity
p and v have the same direction.
SI unit for momentum is the kilogram-meter per second
(kg m/s).
Newtons second law of motion in terms of momentum:
The time rate of change of the momentum of a particle is equal to the
net force acting on the particle and is in the direction of that force
Linear momentum can be
changed only by a net external
force.
If there is no net external force,
p cannot change.
Newtons second law of motion in terms of momentum:
For constant mass m
The Linear Momentum of a System of Particles
Consider a system of n particles, each with its own mass, velocity,
and linear momentum.
The particles may interact with each other, and external forces may
act on them.
The system as a whole has a total linear momentum p which is
defined to be the vector sum of the individual particles’ linear
momenta
Example: Four particles of mass 1 kg, 2 kg, 2.5 kg and 3 kg
are attached to a light, rigid, horizontal rod AB of length 2 m.
The particles are attached to the rod as shown in the diagram.
Find the distance of the system’s centre of mass from A.
