Newton's Laws of Motion and Center of Gravity

For this explanation we will use the first and third laws of motion explained by Sir Isaac Newton: 1) An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by another force.
3) For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

You will also need to know a little about an object's center of gravity.

The center of gravity of an object is the point from which you can suspend the object without there being any rotation
because of the force of gravity, no matter how the object is oriented. If you suspend an object from any point, let it go and allow it to come to rest, the center of gravity will lie along a vertical line that passes through the point of suspension. Unless you've been exceedingly careful in balancing the object, the center of gravity will generally lie below the suspension point. Next Page Return to Main Page