Labs / Physics
Torque Balance
Drag the hanging weights along the beam and watch it tip. A torque is a force times its distance from the pivot, so the beam only settles level when the clockwise and counter-clockwise torques are equal — even when the two sides carry very different masses.
CCW 0.0 N·mCW 0.0 N·mnet 0.0 N·mUnbalanced
What to try
- Can a light weight far out ever balance a heavy weight sitting close to the pivot?
- Slide the pivot toward one end. Which side suddenly needs less mass to stay level?
- Add a third weight. Does it matter which side you place it on, or only how big its torque is?
- Move a weight right up next to the pivot. Why does its torque shrink toward zero?
- When the beam sits at a tilt, watch the “net” readout — what number must it reach before the beam stops moving?