Faculty Publications

Equilibria Of Tipping Rocks

Document Type

Letter

Journal/Book/Conference Title

American Journal of Physics

Volume

51

Issue

11

First Page

1045

Last Page

1046

Abstract

Most of us have had the experience of walking on medium-sized rocks resting on a hard surface and feeling some of the rocks tipping under us. A little experimentation with the placement of our feet on a rock will show that there is an area within which we may stand with absolutely no tipping but outside of which tipping may occur, depending on the rock's weight, our weight, and the exact placement of our feet. It is not difficult to determine the general shape of this region and the general conditions for stability (no possibility of tipping) and instability (possibility of tipping). The analysis provides good exercise in elementary mechanics, and the results are of some interest in themselves. © 1983 American Association of Physics Teachers

Department

Department of Physics

Original Publication Date

1-1-1983

DOI of published version

10.1119/1.13356

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