What is Moment of Force - Torque ?

Moment of a force - Torque - ICSE - Notes

A.     Translational Motion : The motion of a body in a straight path is called translational motion.

B.      Rotational Motion : The motion of a body which rotates about an axis passing through a point at which that body pivoted.

Moment (Turning effect) of  a force (or) Torque:

The turning effect of force acting on a body about an axis is called the moment of force or torque.

Factors affecting the turning of a body:

i)     The magnitude of the force applied on the body.

ii)   The perpendicular distance of line of action of force from the axis of rotation.

The moment of force or Torque is equal to the product of the force applied and the perpendicular distance of the line of action of force from the axis of rotation.

Torque = F x OP

Maximum turning of a body is produced when the perpendicular distance of line of action of force from

the fixed point is maximum for a given force.

1.      If the force applied on a body causes clockwise rotation the

moment of force is called clockwise moment.

2.      If the force causes anticlockwise rotation then the moment of force is called anticlockwise moment.

Units of Moment of force

S.I unit                   newton-meter (N-m)

C.G.S unit              dyne-cm

1 N-m = 10⁷ dyne-cm