ETYM Old Eng. brunt, bront, from Icel. bruna to rush; cf. Icel. brenna to burn. Related to Burn.
Main force of a blow etc.
The point within something at which gravity can be considered to act; SYN. centre of gravity.
The center of gravity of a body is that point in the body through which passes the resultant of weights of its component particles for all orientations of the body with respect to a uniform gravitational field.
The point in an object about which its weight is evenly balanced. In a uniform gravitational field, this is the same as the center of mass.
Or center of gravity; The point in or near an object from which its total weight appears to originate and can be assumed to act. A symmetrical homogeneous object such as a sphere or cube has its center of mass at its physical center; a hollow shape (such as a cup) may have its center of mass in space inside the hollow.
For an object to be in stable equilibrium, a perpendicular line down through its center of mass must run within the boundaries of its base; if tilted until this line falls outside the base, the object becomes unstable and topples over.
ETYM Latin centrum + -oid.
Point representing the mean position of the matter in a body; SYN. center of mass.
A point whose coordinates are the averages of the corresponding coordinates of a given set of points and which for a given plane or three-dimensional figure (as a triangle or sphere) corresponds to the center of mass of a thin plate of uniform thickness and consistency or a body of uniform consistency having the same boundary.
The center of gravity of a body is that point in the body through which passes the resultant of weights of its component particles for all orientations of the body with respect to a uniform gravitational field.