What is statics?
Deals with the equilibrium of bodies under the action of forces.
Contact forces definition
A result of direct physical contact.
Body forces definition
Applied by remote action. We are particularly concerned with gravitational force.
Ways forces can act:
Concentrated or distributed.
All contact forces are applied over a finite area - distributed force. BUT if contact area is small in comparison with other dimensions - concentrated force.
Concurrent forces definition
Forces are concurrent if they act at the same point of application
Forces are concurrent at a point if their lines of action intersect at that point
Principle of transmissibility definition
If a force is applied to a body, the overall external effect on that body is independent of where along its line of action the force is applied.
This means that when we model a body in mechanics, we can move force vectors anywhere along their lines of action to simplify the problem.
