Hyperphysics: Torque Feature Summary

Type:
Physics in Your World
Title:
Hyperphysics: Torque
Description:
Think about the forces on this sailboat: The force of the wind on the sail (perpendicular to the fabric of the sail), tends to rotate the boat. A force that can rotate an object is called a torque. In this case, if the torque of the wind isn't balanced, it will tip the boat over. The weight of the sailor, and also the weight of the hull that's out of the water, both create torques in the opposite sense, to balance the torque of the wind.

For more on torques, see Hyperphysics: Torque, and also this other Hyperphysics page.
Image:
Image credit: Jupiter405; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bladef16-1up.jpg" target="_blank">image source</A>; <a href="http://www.compadre.org/informal/images/features/Catamaran-large.jpg" target="_blank">larger image</a>
Image credit: Jupiter405; image source; larger image
Image URL:
https://www.compadre.org/Informal/images/features/Catamaran-large.jpg
Featured:
May 1, 2012 - May 16, 2012