Introduction to Statics

Statics

  • The study of forces and their effects on a system in a state of rest or uniform motion

Newton’s First Law of Motion

  • An object in a state of rest or uniform motion will continue to be so unless acted upon by a net force

    • Also called the law of inertia

Newton’s Second of Law of Motion

  • The acceleration of an object is proportional to the net force acting on the object and inversely proportional to the object’s mass

    • F = ma

Newton’s Third Law of Motion

  • For every action force, there is an equal and opposite reaction force

Static Equilibrium

  • A condition where there is not a net external force acting upon a particle or rigid body and the body remains at rest or continues at a constant velocity

Translational Equilibrium

  • The state in which there are no unbalanced force acting on a body

    • ΣFx = 0

    • ΣFy = 0

Rotational Equilibrium

  • The state in which the sum of all clockwise moments equals the sum of all the counterclockwise moments about a pivot point

    • ΣM = 0