Real-life applications of the Parallelogram law of vector addition
Introduction
You might ask: How do I use the parallelogram law in real life?
My answer: all the time.
In fact, you might be using it right now! But just like inertia, it’s intimately wired into our lives that we don’t even notice when we’re using it. If you have ever rowed a boat, been to the gym, played basketball, or shot an arrow with a bow, hell if you’ve ever thrown anything at anything. Then there’s a good chance you have subconsciously referred to the parallelogram law in your mind.
Ever notice how Olympic weightlifters usually spread their arms out wide in an overhead press position? That’s not arbitrary, in addition to enhancing their stability, that pose ensures the weight of the plates on the sides is distributed equally to both arms. It is a perfect way in which the body balances off the weight of the plates between its two arms. And it is consistent with the parallelogram law.
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