First moment of area and second moment of area

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concepts of the first moment of area, second moment of area, and polar moment of inertia. Participants seek clarification on their definitions, applications in physics, and how they are distinguished from one another.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses confusion about the first moment of area and second moment of area, asking for their definitions and significance in physics.
  • Another participant confirms that the first moment of area is used to find the centroid, while the second moment of area relates to resistance to torque in the x-y plane.
  • A participant highlights the distinction between moment of inertia and second moment of area, noting that they are often confused due to similar notation and integrals.
  • It is mentioned that the moment of inertia is defined relative to a specific axis and is used in the context of torques, while the second moment of area is used in beam bending equations.
  • Participants discuss the polar moment of inertia, indicating it is the moment of inertia about the polar axis, and seek to clarify how it differs from the second moment of area.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the distinctions and applications of these concepts, as confusion and differing interpretations persist throughout the discussion.

Contextual Notes

There are unresolved aspects regarding the definitions and applications of the first moment of area, second moment of area, and polar moment of inertia, as well as their mathematical derivations.

harryiverson
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i am perplexed as to the first moment of area and second of area; i would like to know
1. why they come (how they are figured out and distinguished from each other)
2. what is meaning of these 2 moment of area in terms of physics

what i have learned is that the first moment of area is used to find centroid and the second Of area (Inertia) is to find the resistance in x-y plane to torque in z plane.

btw i am also confused as to the idea of polar moment of inertia ; how it is different from the second moment of the inertia.

hope there are answers to my stupid questions. i just kind of feel lost.
 
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i have viewed some utube video but they can't totally clear my doubt
 
How and how much did you learn about those three concepts?
 
a few line in my structural mechanics lecture notes that state their definition as well as their formula and some example of how they use.
 
harryiverson said:
what i have learned is that the first moment of area is used to find centroid
that is correct

harryiverson said:
and the second Of area (Inertia) is to find the resistance in x-y plane to torque in z plane.
btw i am also confused as to the idea of polar moment of inertia ; how it is different from the second moment of the inertia.

Be careful, the moment of inertia is NOT the same as the second moment of area. There is often some confusion because they are both denoted by I and both have similar looking integrals.

The moment of inertia is defined as I = \iint r^2 dm and you are correct in saying that we use this when we are thinking about torques applied to a system (analogous to Newton's 2nd law for linear acceleration) - we use M = I \ddot \theta. The moment of inertia is always defined relative to a given axis (eg. through the centroid, through the edge, etc). The polar moment of inertia is the moment of inertia about the polar (z) axis ('out of the page axis'). If you are familiar with cylindrical polar coordinates, it is the z-axis.

The second moment of area (also defined relative to a given axis) is defined as I = \iint r^2 dA and this is often used when we are talking about beam bending. I am not sure how familiar you are with beam bending equations, but it is used in equations relating bending moments to shear stress or deflections.

There are some similarities between them (e.g. parallel and perpendicular axis theorems operate in the same way operate for both)

So to sum up:
How are they different? By definition
Where do they come from? There are proofs on the internet that you can search up for these, so no point typing them up here

Hope that starts to help you clear up your confusion.
 
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