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Question
The centre of mass of an extended body on the surface of the earth and its centre of gravity ______.
- are always at the same point for any size of the body.
- are always at the same point only for spherical bodies.
- can never be at the same point.
- is close to each other for objects, say of sizes less than 100 m.
- both can change if the object is taken deep inside the earth.
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Solution
d
Explanation:
The center of gravity is based on weight, whereas the center of mass is based on mass. So, when the gravitational field across an object is uniform, the two are identical. However, when the object enters a spatially-varying gravitational field, the COG will move closer to regions of the object in a stronger field, whereas the COM is unmoved.
More practically, the COG is the point over which the object can be perfectly balanced; the net torque due to gravity about that point is zero. In contrast, the COM is the average location of the mass distribution or it is the point where the whole mass of the body is supposed to be concentrated. If the object were given some angular momentum, it would spin about the COM.
For small objects, say of sizes less than 100 m placed in the uniform gravitational field the centre of mass is very close to the centre of gravity of the body. But when the size of object increases, its weight changes and its CM and CG become far from each other. Like in the case of spherical balls, the CM and the CG are the same, but in case of Mount Everest, its CM lies a bit above its CG.
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