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How does torque help us understand the motion of objects?
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[QUOTE="stevendaryl, post: 4501636, member: 372855"] If you push on one end of a long object, your push will do two things: [LIST=1] [*]get the object as a whole moving in the direction you are pushing, and [*]start the object spinning [/LIST] The idea of torque is to disentangle these two effects. Here's a way to think about it, in the special case of two masses connected by a light, thin rigid rod (like a dumbbell). Imagine the two masses lined up left-to-right, lying on a flat surface. If you push on the left mass, you'll set the dumbbell rotating clockwise. If you push on the right mass, you'll set the dumbbell rotating counterclockwise. There is one spot along the rod so that if you push on that spot, the dumbbell will start moving forward without rotating. That's the center of mass. The amount of rotation imparted by the force clearly depends on the magnitude of the force and how far from the center of mass the force is applied. That's what torque measures: the combination of these two factors. [/QUOTE]
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Introductory Physics Homework Help
How does torque help us understand the motion of objects?
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