4.11 Improvement of Stability
It is our daily life observation that a low armchair is more stable than a high chair because of its low centre of gravity. The position of the centre of gravity is very important when we are talking about stability.
A bus can be stable or unstable depending on how it is loaded. If heavy loads are placed on the floor of the bus, its centre of gravity will be low. If it is disturbed slightly, a torque will bring it back to its original position. In this case, the bus is in stable equilibrium.
If the same bus is loaded with steel sheets on the top, the centre of gravity is raised. It is now near a state of unstable equilibrium. A couple will turn it over if it is slightly tilted. The same is the case with ships and boats.
We can improve the stability of a system either by:
- Lowering the centre of gravity, or
- Widening the base.