Chapter 12, Problem 17P

In Fig. 12-34, a uniform beam of weight 500 N and length 3.0 m is suspended horizontally. On the left it is hinged to a wall; on the right it is supported by a cable bolted to the wall at distance D above the beam. The least tension that will snap the cable is 1200 N. (a) What value of D corresponds to that tension? (b) To prevent the cable from snapping, should D be increased or decreased from that value?

Figure 12-34 Problem 17.