You freely pivot a horseshoe from a horizontal nail through one of its nail holes. You then hang a long string with a weight at its bottom from the same nail, so that the string hangs vertically in front of the horseshoe without touching it. How do you know that the horseshoe’s center of gravity is along the line behind the string? How can you locate the center of gravity by repeating the process at another nail hole? Will the center of gravity be within the solid material of the horseshoe?
Solution to 8DQ Step 1 of 1 The centre of gravity is along the string attached to the horseshoe, because if the centre of gravity is not along the string, there will be a net torque on the string and the string will touch the horseshoe. Mark the line along the string and, use a different nail to pivot the horseshoe from another nail hole. Use another string to mark this vertical line. The point where both the strings intersects will be the point of centre of gravity. No, the centre of gravity does not lie within the horseshoe.
