Quote:
Originally Posted by ZDan
Oh yes it does! Lowering a car 1" will absolutely lower its center of gravity by almost 1".
These are the *same thing*.
Will gain you zero points in an engineering/physics/science test!
Center of gravity and center of mass both refer to a single point in space. The *same* point in 3d space. Neither actually describes the mass distribution, but only the place where for simple analyses the total mass could be said to reside.
No, center of gravity and center of mass only refer to a location. Neither is a "force" or a "mass". They are an address of a location represented in x,y,z or other 3d coordinates.
Of course lowering the car doesn't affect its actual MASS, or its WEIGHT in a gravitational field!
Lowering the car *does* move the c.o.g/c.o.m. location downward by very nearly the amount of lowering. This is very beneficial as it allows the inside tires to contribute more and will generally increase cornering capability for reasons having to do with the nonlinear relationship between tire lateral grip and vertical load.
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Please do not discredit Wikipedia until you have better appreciation of the subject at hand.
Second, I am actually a engineer by trade with state certification in the subject of mechanical engineering.
Third COG and COM can only be the same point if the assemptions is to which the system of particles are infact a ridgit body. Depends on which level you are analyzing, COG and COM can be very different.
Also COG by definition where the resulting torque due to gravity in that given location equal zero. The COG equation is written as f(r)=-q(r)dVgk. -is the general noteation of gravity force direction. V is volume while q is density at each point of the total volume. g is gravity while k is the directional unit vector of the vertical(y) plane. Using sum of the moment equal zero or sum(T)= int(V) ((r-R)xf(r))=0 where R is the respective location of center of gravity of each x,y,z plane. In this case because your unit vector in x, and z plane is zero, your sum of moment would also be zero in y and z plane. As a result, COG is only useful in determining a reference location on the horizontal plane where the partical body system will not rotate due to gravity.
Therefore changing the ride hight of your car does not change the COG because it does not change the resulting torque on system body due to gravity.
No wonder our engineering and science student becomes less competitive on the globe market. It seems like they don't even bother to teach the distinction between the two anymore