Law of Balancing??

Question

What is the Law of Balancing for balancing a meter stick and then putting two unequal masses on each side and then making sure the two sides equal out? How is it determined?

Answer 1

The force which makes something turn (like the balance around its pivot) is torque. You want the net torque to be zero so the balance doesn't turn. See the reference for the math, as well as some very cool illustrations.

Answer 2

The formula for calculating the balance is:

w1 * d1 = w2 * d2

Where w is the weight and d is the distance.