Second moment of area

Uncommon card · No. 163796

The second moment of area, or second area moment, or quadratic moment of area and also known as the area moment of inertia, is a geometrical property of an area which reflects how its points are distributed with regard to an arbitrary axis. The second moment of area is typically denoted with either an I {\displaystyle I} (for an axis that lies in the plane of the area) or with a J {\displaystyle J} (for an axis perpendicular to the plane). In both cases, it is calculated with a multiple integral over the object in question. Its dimension is L (length) to the fourth power. Its unit of dimension, when working with the International System of Units, is meters to the fourth power, m4, or inches to the fourth power, in4, when working in the Imperial System of Units or the US customary system. In structural engineering, the second moment of area of a beam is an important property used in the calculation of...

Read on Wikipedia