 Quote by DrewD
If something is toppled, it must have been standing to begin with (at least that's how I interpret the english) and therefore is being supported by a normal force that may not be acting on the CM.
note: I know this doesn't address difference between CG and CM, but I don't think that is an integral part of your confusion. My apologies if I'm wrong.
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Yeah, my confusion lies in the effect of each centre. Imagine a tractor which is placed on a hydraulic machine which can tilt it. It topples when the line of action of weight is outside the wheel base. If CoG is what I understand it to be- the point at which the resultant moment due to weight is 0- then surely it is when the CoG is outside the wheel base when it topples, not when the CoM is outside the base? Am I misunderstanding the two terms or is the book being clumsy and using CoM and CoG interchangabely hence causing my confusion?