Course - BSc.

Applied Physical Science (Computer Science)

Year & Semester - Ist , Ist
Subject - Physics
Paper No. - 2
Paper Title : Mechanics
Lecture No. – 13

Lecture Title - Equilibrium & Elasticity

Hello friends today the focus of our discussion shall be equilibrium and elasticity the two
main aspects of stability. As we have seen that human constructions are stable in spite of the
forces that act on them. A building, for example, is stable in spite of the gravitational force
and wind forces on it, and a bridge is stable in spite of the gravitational force pulling it
downward and the repeated jolting it receives from cars and trucks. One focus of physics is
on what allows an object to be stable in spite of any forces acting on it. In this lecture we
examine the two main features of stability: the equilibrium of the forces and torques acting on
rigid objects and the elasticity of non-rigid objects, a property that governs how such objects
can deform.

Equilibrium
Consider these objects: (1) a book resting on a table, (2) a hockey puck slidingwith constant
velocity across a frictionless surface, (3) the rotating blades of aceiling fan, and (4) the wheel
of a bicycle that is traveling along a straight path atconstant speed. For each of these four
objects,
1. The linear momentum𝑷 of its centre of mass is constant.
2. Its angular momentum𝑳 about its centre of mass, or about any other point, isalso constant.
We say that such objects are in equilibrium. The two requirements forequilibrium are then:
𝑷 = 𝑎  𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 And 𝑳 = 𝑎  𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡
Our concern in this discussion is with situations in which the constants in this equation are
zero; that is, we are concerned largely with objects that are not moving in any way — either
in translation or in rotation — in the reference framefrom which we observe them. Such
objects are in static equilibrium. Of the fourobjects mentioned at the beginning of this
section, only one — the book restingon the table — is in static equilibrium.
The balancing rock as shown in this figure is another example of an object that, for thepresent
at least, is in static equilibrium. It shares this property with countlessother structures, such as
temples, houses, cabinets, stands, thatremain stationary over time.

As we know that, if a body returns to a state of static equilibrium after having been displaced
from that state by a force, the body is said to bein stable static equilibrium. A marble placed
at the bottom of a hemisphericalbowl is an example. However, if a small force can displace
the body and end the equilibrium, the body is in unstable static equilibrium.

For example, suppose we balance a rectangular box with the box’s centre of massvertically
above the supporting edge, as in Figure a. The torque about the supporting edge due to the
gravitational force  𝐹! on the box is zero because theline of action of  𝐹! is through that edge.
Thus, the box is in equilibrium. Ofcourse, even a slight force on it due to some chance
disturbance ends the equilibrium. As the line of action of  𝐹! moves to one side of the
supporting edge, as inFigure b, the torque due to  𝐹! increases the rotation of the box.
Therefore,the box in Figure a, is in unstable static equilibrium.
The box in Figure c is not quite as unstable. To topple this box,a force would have to rotate it
through and then beyond the balance position ofFigure a, in which the centre of mass is
above a supporting edge. A slight forcewill not topple this box, but a vigorous flick of the
finger against the box certainly will.
The child’s square block in Figure d is even more stable because its centre of mass would
have to be moved even farther to get it to pass above a supportingedge. A flick of the finger
may not topple the block.

The worker in Figure is like both the box and the square block: Parallel to the beam, his
stance is wide and he is stable;perpendicular to the beam, his stance is narrow and he is
unstable (and at themercy of a chance gust of wind).
The analysis of static equilibrium is very important in engineering practice. Thedesign
engineer must isolate and identify all the external forces and torques thatmay act on a
structure and, by good design and wise choice of materials, ensure thatthe structure will
remain stable under these loads. Such analysis is necessary to ensure, for example, that
bridges do not collapse under their traffic and wind loads andthat the landing gear of aircraft
will function after the shock of rough landings.

Hook’s Law
A model of a common physical system on which the force varies with position is shown in
Figure. The system is a block on a frictionless, horizontal surface and connected to a spring.
If the spring is either stretched or compressed a small distance from its un-stretched
(equilibrium) configuration, it exerts on the block a force that can be mathematically
modelled as
𝐹! = −𝑘𝑥
Here x is the position of the block relative to its equilibrium position and k is a positive
constant called the force constant or the spring constant of the spring. In other words, the
force required to stretch or compress a spring is proportional to the amount of stretch or
compression x. This force law for springs is known as Hooke’s law. The value of k is a
measure of the stiffness of the spring. Stiff springs have large k values, and soft springs have
small k values.
The negative sign in Equations signifies that the force exerted by the spring is always
directed opposite the displacement from equilibrium. When 𝑥   >  0 as in Figure a so that the
block is to the right of the equilibrium position, the spring force is directed to the left, in the
negative x direction. When 𝑥   <  0 as in Figurec, the block is to the left of equilibrium and
the spring force is directed to the right, in the positive x direction. When 𝑥 =  0as in Figure
b, the spring is un-stretched and  𝐹! = 0. Because the spring force always acts toward the
equilibrium position, it is sometimes called a restoring force.

Elasticity
When a large number of atoms come together to form a metallic solid, such as an iron nail,
they settle into equilibrium positions in a three-dimensional lattice, a repetitive arrangement
in which each atom is a well-defined equilibrium distance from its nearest neighbours. The
atoms are held together by interatomic forces that are modelled as tiny springs as shown in
Figure.

The lattice is remarkably rigid, whichis another way of saying that the “interatomic springs”
are extremely stiff. It is forthis reason that we perceive many ordinary objects, such as metal
ladders, tables, andspoons, as perfectly rigid. Of course, some ordinary objects, such as
garden hoses orrubber gloves, do not strike us as rigid at all. The atoms that make up these
objectsdo not form a rigid lattice like that of as shown in Figure but are aligned in long,
flexible molecular chains, each chain being only loosely bound to its neighbours.
All real “rigid” bodies are to some extent elastic, which means that we canchange their
dimensions slightly by pulling, pushing, twisting, or compressingthem. To get a feeling for
the orders of magnitude involved, consider a verticalsteel rod 1 m long and 1 cm in diameter
attached to a factory ceiling. If you hanga subcompact car from the free end of such a rod, the
rod will stretch but only byabout 0.5 mm, or 0.05%. Furthermore, the rod will return to its
original lengthwhen the car is removed.If you hang two cars from the rod, the rod will be
permanently stretched andwill not recover its original length when you remove the load. If
you hang threecars from the rod, the rod will break. Just before rupture, the elongation of
therod will be less than 0.2%. Although deformations of this size seem small, theyare
important in engineering practice. For example we need to design the wings of aircrafts
carefully so that they stay on while flying.

Figure shows three ways in which a solid might change its dimensionswhen forces act on it.
In Figure a, a cylinder is stretched. In Figure b, a cylinder is deformed by a force
perpendicular to its long axis, much as we mightdeform a pack of cards or a book. In Figure
c, a solid object placed in a fluidunder high pressure is compressed uniformly on all sides.
What the three deformation types have in common is that a stress, or deforming force per unit
area,produces a strain, or unit deformation. In Figure, tensile stress (associated
withstretching) is illustrated in part(a), shearing stressin part(b), and hydraulic stress in part
(c).
The stresses and the strains take different forms in the three situations ofFigure, but — over
the range of engineering usefulness — stress and strain areproportional to each other. The
constant of proportionality is called a modulus ofelasticity, so that
Stress = modulus  ×Strain

The modulus in general relates what is done to a solid object and how that object responds. It
is similar to the spring constant k in Hooke’s law that relates a force applied to a spring and
the resultant deformation of the spring, measured by its extension or compression.
We consider three types of deformation and define an elastic modulus for each:
1. Young’s modulus measures the resistance of a solid to a change in its length.
2. Shear modulus measures the resistance to motion of the planes within a solid parallel to
each other.
3. Bulk modulus measures the resistance of solids or liquids to changes in their volume.

Young’s Modulus: Elasticity in Length

Consider a long bar of cross-sectional area A and initial length 𝐿! that is clamped at one end.
When an external force is applied perpendicular to the cross section, internal forces in the bar
resist distortion or “stretching”, but the bar reaches an equilibrium situation in which its final
length 𝐿! is greater than 𝐿! and in which the external force is exactly balanced by internal
forces. In such a situation, the bar is said to be stressed. We define the tensile stress as the
ratio of the magnitude of the external force F to the cross-sectional area A. The tensile strain
in this case is defined as the ratio of the change in length ∆𝐿 to the original length  𝐿! . We
define Young’s modulus by a combination of these two ratios as:
tensile  stress 𝐹 𝐴
𝑌= =
tensile  strain ∆𝐿 𝐿!
Young’s modulus is typically used to characterize a rod or wire stressed under either tension
or compression. Because strain is a dimensionless quantity, Y has units of force per unit area.
For relatively small stresses, the bar returns to its initial length when the force is removed.
The elastic limit of a substance is defined as the maximum stress that can be applied to the
substance before it becomes permanently deformed and does not return to its initial length.

It is possible to exceed the elastic limit of a substance by applying a sufficiently large stress
as seen in Figure. Initially, a stress-versus-strain curve is a straight line. As the stress
increases, however, the curve is no longer a straight line. When the stress exceeds the elastic
limit, the object is permanently distorted and does not return to its original shape after the
stress is removed. As the stress is increased even further, the material ultimately breaks.

Shear Modulus: Elasticity of Shape

Another type of deformation occurs when an object is subjected to a force parallel to one of
its faces while the opposite face is held fixed by another force. The stress in this case is called
a shear stress. If the object is originally a rectangular block, a shear stress results in a shape
whose cross section is a parallelogram. A book pushed sideways as shown in Figureb is an
example of an object subjected to a shear stress. To a first approximation (for small
distortions), no change in volume occurs with this deformation.
We define the shear stress as F/A, the ratio of the tangential force to the area A of the face
being sheared. The shear strain is defined as the ratio∆𝑥 ℎ, here ∆𝑥 is the horizontal distance
that the sheared face moves and h is the height of the object. In terms of these quantities, the
shear modulus is
shear  stress 𝐹 𝐴
𝑆= =
shear  strain ∆𝑥 ℎ

Bulk Modulus: Volume Elasticity

Bulk modulus characterizes the response of an object to changes in a force of uniform
magnitude applied perpendicularly over the entire surface of the object as shown. (We
assume here the object is made of a single substance. An object subject to this type of
deformation undergoes a change in volume but no change in shape. The volume stress is
defined as the ratio of the magnitude of the total force F exerted on a surface to the area A of
the surface. The quantity 𝑃 = 𝐹 𝐴 is called pressure. If the pressure on an object changes by
an amount  ∆𝑃 = ∆𝐹 𝐴, the object experiences a volume change  ∆𝑉. The volume strain is
equal to the change in volume ∆𝑉 divided by the initial volume  𝑉! . Therefore, we can
characterize a volume or “bulk” compression in terms of the bulk modulus, which is defined
as
volume  stress ∆𝐹 𝐴 ∆𝑃
𝐵= =− =−
volume  strain ∆𝑉  𝑉! ∆𝑉  𝑉!
A negative sign is inserted in this defining equation so that B is a positive number. This is
necessary because an increase in pressure causes a decrease in volume and vice versa.

So friends here we come to the end of our discussion in this lecture and therefore we sum up:
In this lecture we learnt that
A rigid body at rest is said to be in static equilibrium. For such a body, the vector sum of the
external forces acting on it is zero.
Static equilibrium also implies that the vector sum of the external torques acting on the body
about any point is zero.
The three elastic moduli are used to describe the elastic behaviour or deformations of objects
as they respond to forces that act on them. The strain or fractional change in length is linearly
related to the applied stress or force per unit area by the proper modulus, according to the
general relation
Stress = modulus × strain.
So that is it for today. In the next lecture we shall be talking more about mechanics. Thank
you very much.