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Centre of mass and balancing toys

Question: can you give me some idea about "centre of mass and balance" for my project to build a toy in relation to this?

Answer:

As you know the moment of a force = force x distance from pivot and the centre of mass is the point about which the resultant moment of a body is zero.
A body when tilted will return to a n upright position as long as the vertical from the centre of mass goes not fall outside the base.
Using those three laws:
(a) you can build a mobile by hanging shapes from the ends of wire rods so that the system balances. A series of rods one below the other can give a really complex but interesting shape.
(b) toys that will "right themselves" (come back to a vertical position) can be made as long as they have a curved base and a low centre of mass.
(c) tightrope walker models can be made showing the balancing effect of a person holding a long rod.

 

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