Editing Center of mass (section)

==History==
The concept of center of gravity or [[weight]] was studied extensively by [[Archimedes|Archimedes of Syracuse]], an ancient Greek [[mathematician]], [[physicist]], and [[engineer]]. He worked with simplified assumptions about gravity that amount to a uniform field, thus arriving at the mathematical properties of what we now call the center of mass. Archimedes showed that the [[torque]] exerted on a [[lever]] by weights resting at various points along the lever is the same as what it would be if all of the weights were moved to a single point—their center of mass. In his work ''[[On Floating Bodies]]'', Archimedes demonstrated that the orientation of a floating object is the one that makes its center of mass as low as possible. He developed mathematical techniques for finding the centers of mass of objects of uniform density of various well-defined shapes.{{sfn|Shore|2008|pp=9–11}}

Other ancient mathematicians who contributed to the theory of the center of mass include [[Hero of Alexandria]] and [[Pappus of Alexandria]]. In the [[Science in the Renaissance|Renaissance]] and [[Scientific Revolution|Early Modern]] periods, work by [[Guido Ubaldi]], [[Francesco Maurolico]],{{sfn|Baron|2004|pp=91–94}} [[Federico Commandino]],{{sfn|Baron|2004|pp=94–96}} [[Evangelista Torricelli]], [[Simon Stevin]],{{sfn|Baron|2004|pp=96–101}} [[Luca Valerio]],{{sfn|Baron|2004|pp=101–106}} [[Jean-Charles de la Faille]], [[Paul Guldin]],{{sfn|Mancosu|1999|pp=56–61}} [[John Wallis]], [[Christiaan Huygens]],<ref>{{Cite journal | last=Erlichson|first=H.|date=1996|title=Christiaan Huygens' discovery of the center of oscillation formula| url=https://aapt.scitation.org/doi/10.1119/1.18156|journal=American Journal of Physics|volume=64|issue=5| pages=571–574 |doi=10.1119/1.18156|bibcode=1996AmJPh..64..571E|issn=0002-9505}}</ref> [[Louis Carré (mathematician)|Louis Carré]], [[Pierre Varignon]], and [[Alexis Clairaut]] expanded the concept further.{{sfn|Walton|1855|p=2}}

[[Newton's second law]] is reformulated with respect to the center of mass in [[Euler's laws#Euler's first law|Euler's first law]].{{sfn|Beatty|2006|p=29}}