Force applied at centre of mass

Join the discussion
Ask a follow-up here, or get your own question answered by working scientists, mathematicians and engineers — people, not an autocomplete.
Real named experts · corrections over time · the nuance an AI answer skips
1 reply · 4K views
chandran
Messages
137
Reaction score
1
If a force is applied at centre of mass the object will only translate and not rotate. Can anyone proove this mathematically?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Torque is the cross product of the vector from the center of mass to the point where the force is applied (r), and the force. If r is zero, or r is parallel to the force, there will be no torque, and so no rotational force.