When a body is in translatory equilibrium:
A. The body is definitely at rest
B. The body is definitely in the state of uniform motion
C. The body will be either at rest or in the state of uniform motion
D. None of these
VerifiedHint: Translation means that the body is in the state of motion and translational equilibrium implies that the body is in uniform motion or at rest and no change is taking place in this state of motion of the body.
Complete step by step solution:
Equilibrium can be defined as a condition of the body in which no change is taking place in the state of the body. There may be forces acting on a body but when a body is at equilibrium, the forces acting on the body cancel each other and the resultant effect is that there is no change in the state of the body.
Equilibrium is of two types: Static equilibrium and Dynamic equilibrium.
Static Equilibrium: In the case of static equilibrium, the body is in the state of rest and all forces acting on the body are cancelling each other.
Dynamic equilibrium: The body is in the state of uniform motion which means that there is no acceleration in the body and external forces acting on it are cancelling each other.
In case of translatory equilibrium, the body is at rest or in motion with uniform velocity and all external forces acting on it cancel each other.
For example: Hanging masses are said to be in translational equilibrium.
In the diagram, we see a free body diagram of a mass hanging from a rigid support. The three forces A, B and C are cancelling each other and resultant force acting on the hanging mass is zero.
Hence, we can say that when a body is in translational equilibrium then the body is definitely in the state of rest, that is, option B is correct.
Note: Equilibrium does not mean that there is nothing happening to the body or no process is taking place. It means that some process is taking place in the body but a balance has been achieved such that there is no change in the state of the body.
