Tension (physics)

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In physics, tension may be described as

the pulling force transmitted axially by the
means of a string, cable, chain, or similar
one-dimensional continuous object, or by
each end of a rod, truss member, or similar
three-dimensional object; tension might
also be described as the action-reaction
pair of forces acting at each end of said
elements. Tension could be the opposite
of compression.

At the atomic level, when atoms or

molecules are pulled apart from each
other and gain potential energy with a
restoring force still existing, the restoring
force might create what is also called
tension. Each end of a string or rod under
such tension could pull on the object it is
attached to, in order to restore the
string/rod to its relaxed length.
In physics, tension, as a transmitted force,
as an action-reaction pair of forces, or as a
restoring force, may be a force and has the
units of force measured in newtons (or
sometimes pounds-force). The ends of a
string or other object transmitting tension
will exert forces on the objects to which
the string or rod is connected, in the
direction of the string at the point of
attachment. These forces due to tension
are also called "passive forces". There are
two basic possibilities for systems of
objects held by strings:[1] either
acceleration is zero and the system is
therefore in equilibrium, or there is
acceleration, and therefore a net force is
present in the system.

Tension in one dimension

Tension in a string is
a non-negative
scalar quantity. Zero
tension is slack. A
string or rope is
often idealized as
one dimension,
having length but being massless with
zero cross section. If there are no bends in
the string, as occur with vibrations or
pulleys, then tension is a constant along
the string, equal to the magnitude of the
forces applied by the ends of the string. By
Newton's Third Law, these are the same
forces exerted on the ends of the string by
the objects to which the ends are
attached. If the string curves around one
or more pulleys, it will still have constant
tension along its length in the idealized
situation that the pulleys are massless and
frictionless. A vibrating string vibrates with
a set of frequencies that depend on the
string's tension. These frequencies can be
derived from Newton's laws of motion.
Each microscopic segment of the string
pulls on and is pulled upon by its
neighboring segments, with a force equal
to the tension at that position along the
string. tension where is the
position along the string.

If the string has curvature, then the two

pulls on a segment by its two neighbors
will not add to zero, and there will be a net
force on that segment of the string,
causing an acceleration. This net force is a
restoring force, and the motion of the
string can include transverse waves that
solve the equation central to Sturm-
Liouville theory:
where is the force constant per unit
length [units force per area] are the
eigenvalues for resonances of transverse
displacement on the string.,[2] with
solutions that include the various
harmonics on a stringed instrument.

Tension in three dimensions

Tension is also used to describe the force
exerted by the ends of a three-
dimensional, continuous material such as
a rod or truss member. Such a rod
elongates under tension. The amount of
elongation and the load that will cause
failure both depend on the force per cross-
sectional area rather than the force alone,
so stress = axial force / cross sectional
area is more useful for engineering
purposes than tension. Stress is a 3x3
matrix called a tensor, and the
element of the stress tensor is tensile
force per area, or compression force per
area, denoted as a negative number for
this element, if the rod is being
compressed rather than elongated.

System in equilibrium
A system is in equilibrium when the sum
of all forces is zero.
 [1]

For example, consider a system consisting

of an object that is being lowered vertically
by a string with tension, T, at a constant
velocity. The system has a constant
velocity and is therefore in equilibrium
because the tension in the string, which is
pulling up on the object, is equal to the
weight force, mg ("m" is mass, "g" is the
acceleration caused by the gravity of
Earth), which is pulling down on the object.

[1]

System under net force

A system has a net force when an
unbalanced force is exerted on it, in other
words the sum of all forces is not zero.
Acceleration and net force always exist
together.

[1]

For example, consider the same system as

above but suppose the object is now being
lowered with an increasing velocity
downwards (positive acceleration)
therefore there exists a net force
somewhere in the system. In this case,
negative acceleration would indicate that
.
 [1]

In another example, suppose that two

bodies A and B having masses and
, respectively, are connected with each
other by an inextensible string over a
frictionless pulley. There are two forces
acting on the body A: its weight (
) pulling down, and the tension
in the string pulling up. Therefore, the
net force on body A is , so
. In an extensible string,
Hooke's law applies.

Strings in modern physics

String-like objects in relativistic theories,
such as the strings used in some models
of interactions between quarks, or those
used in the modern string theory, also
possess tension. These strings are
analyzed in terms of their world sheet, and
the energy is then typically proportional to
the length of the string. As a result, the
tension in such strings is independent of
the amount of stretching.

See also
Continuum mechanics
Fall factor
Surface tension
 Tensile strength

References
1. Physics for Scientists and Engineers
with Modern Physics, Section 5.7. Seventh
Edition, Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning,
2008.
2. A. Fetter and J. Walecka. (1980).
Theoretical Mechanics of Particles and
Continua. New York: McGraw-Hill.

External links
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