rigid body (redirected from Rigid-body kinematics)

rigid body [′rij·id ′bäd·ē]

(mechanics)

An idealized extended solid whose size and shape are definitely fixed and remain unaltered when forces are applied.

---

Rigid body

An idealized extended solid whose size and shape are definitely fixed and remain unaltered when forces are applied. Treatment of the motion of a rigid body in terms of Newton's laws of motion leads to an understanding of certain important aspects of the translational and rotational motion of real bodies without the necessity of considering the complications involved when changes in size and shape occur. Many of the principles used to treat the motion of rigid bodies apply in good approximation to the motion of real elastic solids. See Rigid-body dynamics