Balanced Forces
Force can be defined as that pull or push which produces or tends to produce, destroys or tends to destroy motion in a body, increases or decreases the speed of the body or changes its direction of motion. We apply force or force is applied to us in almost every aspect of our daily life. According to Newton’s First law, a body at rest or in motion will continue to remain in the unchanged position unless an external force is applied to it.
What is a Balanced Force?
A force where two forces of equal size, act on a body in opposite direction is known as a Balanced Force.
Balanced forces are two forces acting in opposite directions on an object, and equal in size. Anytime there is a balanced force on an object, the object stays still or continues moving continues to move at the same speed an in the same direction. It is important to note that an object can be in motion even if there are no forces acting on it.
Balanced Forces can be determined in Floating, Hanging, Sitting and Standing objects.
Floating Objects: A block is floating in a pool of water. It is floating because the weight of the object is balanced by the up thrust from the water. If more weight is tied to the block, the force pulling it down may be more and will cause it to sink.
Sitting/ Standing Objects: Consider a metal block resting on the surface of a table. Its weight is balanced by the reaction force from the surface. The surface pushes up against the metal block, balancing out the weight of the metal block.
