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Understanding Torque: Definition & Concepts

Torque is a measure of how much a force causes an object to rotate around a pivot point. Torque is calculated as the cross product of the distance vector from the pivot point to where the force is applied (the moment arm) and the force vector. The direction of the torque vector can be determined using the right hand rule. Torque depends on both the magnitude of the applied force and the distance from the pivot point. Multiple torques from different forces can be added together to find the net torque on an object.

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Nikko San Quimio
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7 views2 pages

Understanding Torque: Definition & Concepts

Torque is a measure of how much a force causes an object to rotate around a pivot point. Torque is calculated as the cross product of the distance vector from the pivot point to where the force is applied (the moment arm) and the force vector. The direction of the torque vector can be determined using the right hand rule. Torque depends on both the magnitude of the applied force and the distance from the pivot point. Multiple torques from different forces can be added together to find the net torque on an object.

Uploaded by

Nikko San Quimio
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© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

WHAT IS TORQUE?

Torque is a measure of how much a force acting on an


object causes that object to rotate. The object rotates about
an axis, which we will call the pivot point, and will label 'O'.
We will call the force 'F'. The distance from the pivot point to
the point where the force acts is called the moment arm, and
is denoted by 'r'. Note that this distance, 'r', is also a vector, Figure 1 Definitions
and points from the axis of rotation to the point where the
force acts. (Refer to Figure 1 for a pictoral representation of
these definitions.)

Torque is defined as

= r x F = r F sin( ).

In other words, torque is the cross product between the distance vector (the distance
from the pivot point to the point where force is applied) and the force vector, 'a' being
the angle between r and F.

Using the right hand rule, we can find the direction of the torque vector. If we put
our fingers in the direction of r, and curl them to the direction of F, then the thumb
points in the direction of the torque vector.

Imagine pushing a door to open it. The force of your push (F) causes the door to rotate
about its hinges (the pivot point, O). How hard you need to push depends on the
distance you are from the hinges (r) (and several other things, but let's ignore them
now). The closer you are to the hinges (i.e. the smaller r is), the harder it is to push.
This is what happens when you try to push open a door on the wrong side. The torque
you created on the door is smaller than it would have been had you pushed the correct
side (away from its hinges).

Note that the force applied, F, and the moment arm, r, are independent of the object.
Furthermore, a force applied at the pivot point will cause no torque since the moment
arm would be zero (r = 0).

There may be more than one force acting on an object, and each of these forces may
act on different point on the object. Then, each force will cause a torque. The net
torque is the sum of the individual torques.
Rotational Equilibrium is analogous to translational equilibrium, where the sum of the
forces are equal to zero. In rotational equilibrium, the sum of the torques is equal
to zero. In other words, there is no net torque on the object.

Note that the SI units of torque is a Newton-metre, which is also a way of


expressing a Joule (the unit for energy). However, torque is not energy. So, to avoid
confusion, we will use the units N.m, and not J. The distinction arises because energy
is a scalar quanitity, whereas torque is a vector.

RESOURCE: [Link]

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