Consider an object upon which multiple forces are acting. If the lines of action of each force lie within the same plane, the system can be considered coplanar. The Cartesian vector form can be used to resolve each force into its respective components. For a coplanar system, the system will be in equilibrium if each component of the resultant force equals zero and the resultant force on the system is zero. If the sum of the forces is not equal to zero, then the object will not be in equilibrium...

A charge distribution has cylindrical symmetry if the charge density depends only upon the distance from the axis of the cylinder and does not vary along the axis or with the direction about the axis. In other words, if a system varies if it is rotated around the axis or shifted along the axis, it does not have cylindrical symmetry. In real systems, we do not have infinite cylinders; however, if the cylindrical object is considerably longer than the radius from it that we are interested in,...

Mohr's circle is a graphical method for determining an area's principal moments by plotting the moments and product of inertia on a rectangular coordinate system. This circle can also be used to calculate the orientation of the principal axes.
Consider a rectangular beam. The moments of inertia of the beam about the x and y axis are 2.5(107) mm4 and 7.5(107) mm4, respectively. The product of inertia is 1.5(107) mm4. Determine the principal moments of inertia and the orientation of the major and...

Suppose a car moves on flat ground and turns to the left. The centripetal force causing the car to turn in a circular path is due to friction between the tires and the road. For this, a minimum coefficient of friction is needed, or the car will move in a larger-radius curve and leave the roadway. Let's now consider banked curves, where the slope of the road helps in negotiating the curve. The greater the angle of the curve, the faster one can take the curve. It is common for race tracks for...

The perpendicular-axis theorem states that the moment of inertia of a planar object about an axis perpendicular to its plane is equal to the sum of the moments of inertia about two mutually perpendicular concurrent axes lying in the plane of the body.
Consider a circular disc of mass M and radius R lying along an x-y plane. The origin lies at the center of the disc, and the z-axis is perpendicular to the disc's plane. All three axes coincide at the disc's center. The moment of inertia of this...

A planar symmetry of charge density is obtained when charges are uniformly spread over a large flat surface. In planar symmetry, all points in a plane parallel to the plane of charge are identical with respect to the charges. Suppose the plane of the charge distribution is the xy-plane, and the electric field at a space point P with coordinates (x, y, z) is to be determined. Since the charge density is the same at all (x, y) - coordinates in the z = 0 plane, by symmetry, the electric field at P...