Drinking-Straw Microbalance and Seesaw: Stability and Instability

The mechanics of a beam balance are little appreciated and seldom understood. We here consider the conditions that result in a stable balance, with center of gravity below the fulcrum (pivot point), while an unstable balance results when the center of gravity is above the fulcrum. The highly sensiti...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chapman, P., Glasser, Leslie
Format: Journal Article
Published: AMER ASSN PHYSICS TEACHERS 2015
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/14314