Here is a graph of position vs. time for two objects (dotted line and dashed line) involved in a collision (at the star). The solid line represents the center-of-mass. There is a mistake in the graph! What is the mistake, and how do you know? Note: I did not give you any numbers on the graph, and you don't need them to find the error!
Rigid Body
A rigid body is an object which does not change its shape or undergo any significant deformation due to an external force or movement. Mathematically speaking, the distance between any two points inside the body doesn't change in any situation.
Rigid Body Dynamics
Rigid bodies are defined as inelastic shapes with negligible deformation, giving them an unchanging center of mass. It is also generally assumed that the mass of a rigid body is uniformly distributed. This property of rigid bodies comes in handy when we deal with concepts like momentum, angular momentum, force and torque. The study of these properties – viz., force, torque, momentum, and angular momentum – of a rigid body, is collectively known as rigid body dynamics (RBD).
Here is a graph of position vs. time for two objects (dotted line
and dashed line) involved in a collision (at the star).
The solid line represents the center-of-mass.
There is a mistake in the graph! What is the mistake, and how
do you know?
Note: I did not give you any numbers on the graph, and you
don’t need them to find the error!
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