Facts About Balanced Forces: Learn More About The Physics Behind It

Before we learn about balanced force, let's talk about forces in general.

Force can be defined as the push or pull that acts on an object when it interacts with another. For example, when we play basketball, we push the ball in a certain direction with force.

What then are balanced forces? When two forces of equal magnitude act on an object, the vector sum of the forces is zero. This means that the object remains in its original state of rest or motion in spite of the forces acting on it.

To check if a balanced force is acting on an object, we take the vector sum of all the forces, or simply the net force. If the net force is zero, there is no displacement or change in the velocity of the object. Keep reading to learn more about balanced force and its uses!

Top Examples And Explanations Of Balanced Forces

Now that we understand what balanced force is, let's look into some examples.

Let's begin with the age-old example of humans pushing a wall. A force applied against a brick wall is a balanced force.

This is because when we push against the wall with the slightest or most intense force, the wall remains in its original state. Since there is no displacement in the wall as a result of the force applied, we can assume that the same magnitude of the force is being applied by the wall against us as well.

We have all watched a tug-of-war in which neither of the teams seems to move at all. What happens in such a situation is that the two forces acting from either side are of the same magnitude.

When the two forces are equal, they cancel each other out and their vector sum is zero. As a result, neither team moves, and the balanced force is created.

Even in an arm-wrestling match, when both the opponents seem to be motionless, it is not because neither of them is exerting any force. Quite on the contrary, this state of rest is caused since the forces applied from either direction are the same and cancel out.

An aircraft remains in steady motion as long as the forces acting on it are balanced. When the forces are not balanced, there is turbulence!

Another example would be a book or any other object lying on a table or any other surface. Unless an external force is applied, the book does not move.

This means that the force applied by the book through gravity is canceled out by the force that the table exerts on it.

If the table exerted more force, the book would bounce off and if the book exerted more force than it was met with, it would break the table. Since neither of the results is seen, we are assured of a balanced force.

One of the rather interesting examples of balanced force is that of a vehicle moving with a constant velocity. In this case, since there is no acceleration, the net force is zero, or in other words, the forces are balanced.

When an airplane is cruising with its wings on the same plane, equilibrium is achieved. This is also a result of balanced force.

When we sit on a chair, the force we exert on the chair through gravity is balanced out by the force that the chair exerts on us. For this reason, there is no displacement, and hence, there is a balanced force in the apparatus.

If a metal block is suspended, the force exerted by its weight through gravity is balanced out by the force of tension exerted by the rope. Hence, there is no displacement.

Balanced Vs. Unbalanced Forces

Balanced force is achieved when the net force acting on an object is zero. This essentially means that the vector sum of two forces is canceled out.

In such cases, no change is caused to the state of the object itself. That is to say that an object that is in motion remains in motion at the same constant velocity and an object that is at rest remains in the same state as well.

Unbalanced forces, on the other hand, cause changes to the state of the object. This is because the net force acting on the object is not zero.

For there to be an unbalanced force, either the drag force or some other form of force has to be greater on the object. For example, if we displace a ball by exerting force on it, the force exerted by us is greater. If that were not the case, the ball would remain in its place.

In space, where is less air resistance than on the surface of the Earth, an object set in motion can remain in motion. Air resistance and friction act in the same way.

For example, when a ball rolled across the floor naturally comes to a halt, the reason behind it would be the friction. The ball keeps rolling as long as the force applied to set it in motion is greater than the frictional force. As soon as both forces become equal, the ball stops moving.

Characteristics Of Balanced Forces

Balanced forces simply cannot change the physical state of an object or alter its state of motion. For example, when there is a balanced force on an object in uniform motion, it remains in motion with the same velocity.

As long as no acceleration of deceleration is caused due to any of the forces acting on the object, we can say that a balanced force is acting on it.

When we say that there is a balanced force on an object, we imply that the vector sum of all the forces acting on it is zero. This means that all the forces acting on an object from different directions are canceled out, causing no change in its form or state.

Balanced force is incapable of changing the shape of any object. For example, humans pushing a brick wall is considered a balanced force since the shape of the wall is not altered in any way.

However, when the same amount of force is exerted on clay, the shape changes, meaning that the force was not balanced, and the force exerted by the clay was less than that exerted on it.

FAQs

What are two characteristics of balanced forces?

The first characteristic of balanced forces is that they do not cause any displacement. The other and one of the most important aspects of balanced forces is that all the individual forces acting upon an object cancel out each other. This essentially means that the resultant sum is zero.

What is an unbalanced force?

An unbalanced force is one in which the resultant sum of all the forces acting upon an object is not zero. For example, if we push a pen across the table, the frictional force applied by the table's surface to keep the pen from moving is less than the force applied to move it.

As a result, the pen is displaced.

What happens when an unbalanced force acts on an object?

When an unbalanced external force acts upon an object, it is displaced from its original position.

When forces are balanced, the motion of the object?

If all the forces acting upon an object are balanced, it essentially means that the net force is zero. When the net force is zero, there is no motion in the object.

What happens to the velocity of an object when balanced forces act on it?

Balanced forces do not cause any change in the velocity of an object. That is to say that if a stationary object is given balanced forces, it will remain stationary and won't move at all.

On the other hand, when objects are in motion, they will remain in motion and will continue to have the same velocity when they have balanced forces acting upon them.

What do balanced forces mean in science?

In science, balanced forces can simply be defined as a set of two or more forces that have a net force of zero when summed up together.

What is the relationship between net force and balanced forces?

Net force can be understood as the vector sum of all the forces acting on an object. For example, let's say that 20N of force is acting in the right direction and 30N of force is acting in the left direction on a metal block.

In this case, the net force would be 10N in the left direction. On the other hand, balanced force is achieved when the vector sum of all the forces acting on an object is zero.