Varignon's theorem in statics

Description

Torque, moment or moment of force (see the terminology below) is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis. In addition to the tendency to move a body in the direction of its application, a force can also tend to rotate a body about an axis. The axis may be any line which neither intersects nor is parallel to the line of action of the force. This rotational tendency is known as the moment (M) of the force. Moment is also referred to as torque. The magnitude of the moment of a force at a point O, is equal to the perpendicular distance from O to the line of action of F, multiplied by the magnitude of the force. Varignon’s theorem in statics states that the moment of a force about any point is equal to the sum of the moments of the components of the force about the same point.