Center of Mass

• When objects are not simple point masses, one may treat them (in some ways) as if their matter were concentrated at a single point: the center of mass.
• To calculate the center of mass of an object which is made up of several compact units, one may use a sum:

                            Sum  (mass i) * (x-pos i)
     X (center of mass) =  -----------------------------
                                 total mass
  
                            Sum  (mass i) * (y-pos i)
     Y (center of mass) =  -----------------------------
                                 total mass
  

• If an object is extended, then one must integrate over its volume to calculate the center of mass.

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Copyright © Michael Richmond. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.