centre of mass

British  

noun

1. the point at which the mass of a system could be concentrated without affecting the behaviour of the system under the action of external linear forces

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Example Sentences

It has been at the centre of mass litigation in the United States brought mostly by residential gardeners claiming the weedkiller caused their cancer.

From Reuters • Jun. 18, 2022

Dr Kipping’s technique relies on the fact that moons do not simply revolve around their host planets; planets also revolve around their moons—or, rather, the two bodies both revolve around their common centre of mass.

From Economist • Nov. 8, 2012

These are a set of six tungsten blocks that the rover's capsule ejected to shift its centre of mass and help guide its flight through the atmosphere.

From BBC • Aug. 8, 2012

The centre of mass of the wheel is on the level of these pivots, so that the instrument will remain with either end of the axis up.

From Lord Kelvin An account of his scientific life and work by Gray, Andrew

On this hypothesis, the chemical atom is to be regarded as a microcosm, a sort of a solar system in miniature, the component electrons being capable of vibration relatively to the atomic centre of mass.

From Hertzian Wave Wireless Telegraphy by Fleming, John Ambrose