A bar of mass rests on a table.
In reality, the weight of the bar is
Volume of bar = Length x
breadth x height = L m x B m x h
m = V m³
Mass of bar = density x
Volume = V m³ x kg/m³ =
m kg
Weight of bar = Mass x g = m kg
x 9.81 m/s² = W kg m/s² = W (N)
In Statics, the weight may be
distributed over the contact area ,
which is called pressure.
Pressure = Force/contact area
= W (N) / LB (m²)
= p N/m²
Force = pressure x contact area
= p N/m² x LB (m²)
= W (N)
represented as a concentrated force
acting through the 'centroid' of the
contact area.
If drawn to scale, the length of the
arrow represents the magnitude of the
force, while the arrow shows the
direction