Center of mass for a system of particles

The center of mass (com) of a system of particles is a unique point at any given time where the sum of weighted relative positions of the distributed mass is zero.

Links:

  1. Wikipedia, second formula.

center_of_mass_law(masses_, position_vectors_)[source]

Vector of the center of mass from masses and position vectors.

Law:

r_com = Sum(m_i * r_i, i) / Sum(m_i, i)

Latex:
\[{\vec r}_\text{com} = \frac{\sum_i m_i {\vec r}_i}{\sum_i m_i}\]
Parameters:

  • masses_ –

    sequence of masses of individual parts

    Symbol: m_i

    Latex: \(m_i\)

    Dimension: mass

  • position_vectors_ –

    sequence of position vectors of individual parts

    Symbol: r_i

    Latex: \({\vec r}_i\)

    Dimension: length

Returns:

vector of the center of mass

Symbol: r_com

Latex: \({\vec r}_\text{com}\)

Dimension: length