A tightrope walker frequently carries a long pole to help him balance. Why does this help?
Answer
A tightrope walker remains standing by keeping his centre of mass directly above the rope. If his centre of mass moves off the centre, he must correct this or he will rotate off the rope and fall down. By carrying a long pole, the performer is increasing his rotational inertia. This means that he will rotate slower and, therefore, have more time to make a correction to his centre of mass. The balancing poles are frequently droopy and weighted at the tips. This lowers the centre of mass of the performer, which also makes it easier to balance.
