Center of Gravity

Everything has what is called a Center of Gravity, or Center of Mass. In simple terms, it’s the imaginary point around which something’s weight is perfectly balanced. It’s also the point that gravity acts through, and gravity always acts downward. In people, gravity acts through a point that is close to your belly button; your Center of Gravity.

I’ve enlisted the help of our friend Don to demonstrate what’s really happening. (Thanks Don!) The red dot is his Center of Gravity and the arrow is gravity.

When Don is standing on two feet (Picture #1), his Center of Gravity is between his legs, half the distance between his skates. He is balanced.

When Don stands on only 1 foot (Picture #2), his center of gravity moves. Now that Don has only one skate to stand on, gravity must act straight through his skate blade. In this case, Don’s Center of Gravity is outside of his skate blade. Unless Don adjusts himself, he’ll fall over.

In Picture #3, Don has adjusted his Center of Gravity so that it is directly above his skate. Don is now balanced.

We’ll talk about balance soon.