What is the center of gravity for humans?

I am not 100% sure if I understand your question but this might clarify the concept of center of mass (COM) of an object. It is defined by the following equation $$\int_{\mathbb R^3} \rho(\vec r) \cdot (\vec r- \vec r_{com}) \, \mathrm d V =\vec 0 $$

where $\rho(\vec r)$ is the density of the object at a position $\vec r$ from the origin. If you modify this integral you get:

$$ \int_{\mathbb R^3} \rho(\vec r) \cdot \vec r \, \mathrm d V = \int_{\mathbb R^3} \rho(\vec r) \cdot \vec r_{com} \, \mathrm d V = \vec r_{com} \int_{\mathbb R^3} \rho(\vec r) \cdot \, \mathrm d V = \vec r_{com }\cdot M $$ $$ \implies \vec r_{com} = \frac 1 M \int_{\mathbb R^3} \rho(\vec r) \cdot \vec r \, \mathrm d V $$

where $M=\int_{\mathbb R^3} \rho(\vec r) \, \mathrm d V$ is the total mass of the object This integral tells you to do one thing: Take density-weighed average of the position vectors.

You see however there is one (technical) problem with this definition. The equation tells you if you give me $\rho(\vec r)$ at every point in space. I'll give you $\vec r_{com}$. For a complex object like a human being $\rho(\vec r)$ is a very very complicated function. Your muscles have different density from your bones and your fat tissue etc. There is one more problem and that is you don't always have the same fat tissue or whatever at the same position for every person. Thus calculating that integral is for all practical purposes impossible for a human being. However the nature doesn't care about the complexity of the object. There is still a unique COM at each fraction of time for each person.**

Let's take a very rough model of a human being. I.e. a box with height $h$ and a square base with side length $a$. Let the density constant $\rho(\vec r) = \rho$ and zero outside of the box. Let's choose the origin to be on the bottom corner of the box.

$$ M \cdot \vec r_{com} = \int_{\mathbb R^3} \rho(\vec r) \cdot \vec r \, \mathrm d V = \iiint\limits_{\text{Box}} \rho \cdot \vec r \, \mathrm d V = \int_{z=0}^h \int_{y=0}^{a} \int_{x=0}^a \rho \cdot \left( \begin{smallmatrix} x \\ y \\ z\end{smallmatrix} \right) \, \mathrm dx \mathrm dy \mathrm dz$$

$$ \implies M \cdot \vec r_{com,\ standing} = \frac \rho 2 \left( \begin{smallmatrix} a^3h \\ a^3h \\ a^2h^2\end{smallmatrix} \right) \implies \vec r_{com} = \frac 1 2 \left( \begin{smallmatrix} a \\ a \\ h\end{smallmatrix} \right)$$

Suppose you have raised your hands above. We can very crudely model this a box wiht a base of a rectangle with sides $a/2$ and $a$ and height $2h$. Note that the volume and thus the mass of the box is the same. If you calculate the integral you'll get

$$\vec r_{com,\ hands\ raised} = \left( \begin{smallmatrix} a/2 \\ a/4 \\ h\end{smallmatrix} \right) \neq \vec r_{com,\ standing}$$

Note that in both cases you have a unique center of mass. However the COM of a person raising hands is clearly different from a person just standing.

What you can do however is to measure the COM experimentally and get a rough idea of where the COM of a human being might be in certain positions.


*In order for this to make physical sense $\rho(\vec r) =0 $ for all $\lVert \vec r \rVert > R$ i.e. your object has to end somewhere.

** Your COM is not the same when your stomach is full and empty. That is why you have to take a small fraction of time to make sure that there is nothing funny going on.

What is the center of gravity for humans?

What is the center of gravity for humans?

  • Entertainment & Pop Culture
  • Geography & Travel
  • Health & Medicine
  • Lifestyles & Social Issues
  • Literature
  • Philosophy & Religion
  • Politics, Law & Government
  • Science
  • Sports & Recreation
  • Technology
  • Visual Arts
  • World History
  • On This Day in History
  • Quizzes
  • Podcasts
  • Dictionary
  • Biographies
  • Summaries
  • Top Questions
  • Week In Review
  • Infographics
  • Demystified
  • Lists
  • #WTFact
  • Companions
  • Image Galleries
  • Spotlight
  • The Forum
  • One Good Fact
  • Entertainment & Pop Culture
  • Geography & Travel
  • Health & Medicine
  • Lifestyles & Social Issues
  • Literature
  • Philosophy & Religion
  • Politics, Law & Government
  • Science
  • Sports & Recreation
  • Technology
  • Visual Arts
  • World History
  • Britannica Classics
    Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives.
  • Demystified Videos
    In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions.
  • #WTFact Videos
    In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find.
  • This Time in History
    In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history.
  • Britannica Explains
    In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions.
  • Student Portal
    Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more.
  • COVID-19 Portal
    While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today.
  • 100 Women
    Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.
  • Britannica Beyond
    We’ve created a new place where questions are at the center of learning. Go ahead. Ask. We won’t mind.
  • Saving Earth
    Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century. Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them!
  • SpaceNext50
    Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!