Statics is the action of one body on another. A force is either a push or a pull. A force tends to move a body in the direction of its action. The action of a force is characterized by its magnitude, by the direction of its action, and by its point of application. Thus, force is a vector quantity, because its effect depends on the direction as well as on the magnitude of the action. Forces are classified as either contact or body forces. A contact force is produced by direct physical contact; an example is the force exerted on a
Statics known as the "second condition for equilibrium." See statically indeterminate. Archimedes (c. 287–c. 212 BC) did pioneering work in statics. Later developments in the field of statics are found in works of Thebit. A scalar is a quantity which only has a magnitude, such as mass or temperature. A vector has a magnitude and a direction. There are several notations to identify a vector, including: Vectors are added using the parallelogram law or the triangle law. Vectors contain components in orthogonal bases. Unit vectors i, j, and k are, by convention, along the x, y, and z axes, respectively. Force