Statics Engineering Mechanics Article 2

 Statics is the first part of engineering mechanics. 

What does statics deal with? 

    It deals with the response of bodies under the action of forces but with a minor tweak. Not just under the action of forces, but under the action of BALANCED forces. Balanced forces mean forces, when added are canceled out. This condition is known as equilibrium. 

    So Statics deal with the study of response of bodies under the action of balanced forces, or bodies in equilibrium. Please remember equilibrium does not mean the absence of forces. It means forces are canceled out or balanced.as show in figure below

In this figure 20KN force is acting in downward direction and two 10KN forces are acting in upward direction, they canceled out each other as they are opposite in direction that means the body is in equilibrium.  

Also keep in mind statics does not mean NO motion. This may seem confusing but it is easy to understand. Most problems that we are going to deal within this topic are bodies that are stationery. This means they are not designed to move. A table, or a chair, or a building, or a bridge are all supposed to be NOT moving and these structures are in static equilibrium. 

    However, a body can also be in equilibrium when in constant motion meaning constant velocity. In other words, you can be in a plane flying at 500 miles per hour at an altitude of 30,000 feet without any turbulence. We can sit and relax in that plane, watcha movie, or sleep. We don’t even feel the movement because our body does not sense speed. We can, at that time, perform static analysis of the chair we are sitting, or other objects in the plane. In fact, a glass of water in the plane is going be steady, and not falling during the motion of the plane. The glass with water is in static equilibrium. However, this won’t be true if the plane is taking off, or landing, or experiences any turbulence. In such situations, the plane is changing its speed and/or direction. The plane is accelerating changing its speed, or direction. 

    So static analysis is possible when the body is in motion but it should be constant. Or in other words non-accelerating. 

In summary, in this topic we are going to deal with response of bodies under the condition of equilibrium. 

Thank you So much 

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