>
> http://structsource.com/analysis/types/beam.htm
>
> On this page they write these formulas in terms of the moment of
> inertia of the beams. I'm not sure exactly which moment of inertia
> they mean but I'd guess that it is around the axis which is defined by
> the cross product of the length and the applied force, and computed at
> the center of mass of the beam.

Actually, the moment of inertia of the beam is computed on a cross section 
of the beam. It is how the computation takes material at the top and bottom 
of the beam as being of more importance to the strength than material in the 
middle. For example, an I-Beam of a given total cross section is much 
stronger than a simple solid rectangular beam.

> Your answer may depend upon how the ends are fixed (whether they are
> allowed to pivot or not).

Yes, it certainly will depend on this.


-- Bob Ammerman
RAm Systems

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