Question

For a body in equilibrium, the linear acceleration of its centre of mass would be zero and also the angular acceleration of the rigid body about any axis would be zero.

(a) True

(b) False

I got this question by my college professor while I was bunking the class.

This is a very interesting question from Forces of Nature in portion Gravitation of Engineering Physics I

Answer 1

Correct answer is (a) True

The explanation is: A rigid body is in equilibrium if both the linear and angular momentum of the rigid body remains constant with time. Hence for a body on equilibrium, the linear acceleration of its centre of mass would be zero and also the angular acceleration of the rigid body about any axis would be zero.