Conditions For Equilibrium

A body or group of bodies is said to be in equilibrium if all the forces exerted on the system are in balance. In such a situation, Newton's laws as expressed in Eq. (14.1) show that no acceleration results. This may imply that no motion takes place, meaning that all velocities are zero. If so, the system is said to be in static equilibrium. On the other hand, no acceleration may imply that velocities do exist but remain constant; the system is then said