I’m always amazed by tightrope walkers—so high in the air, yet they rarely fall. What these funambulists recognize is that strutting along a tightrope is all thanks to their center of gravity.
Everyone has a center of gravity. Every object has one, too. It’s the point in our body where all weight is evenly balanced. If our tightrope walker plants her feet shoulder-width apart and stands with her hands at her sides, her center of gravity would be just below her belly button, about halfway between her stomach and back.
Our acrobat stands steadily because her center of gravity sits above her base of support. If you stand on the ground, your base of support would be where your feet contact the floor and the area between them. Plant a hand on the ground, and now your base of support encircles your hand, too.
The tightrope walker’s base of support is pretty narrow, since only a small part of her feet touches the supporting surface of the highwire. As long as her center of gravity stays directly over the tightrope, between her feet, she can balance. And the wider she stands, the bigger her base of support, keeping her steady.
Acrobats, of course, don’t stay still, which means their center of gravity moves each time they do. If the tightrope walker leans too far into space, her center of gravity shifts away from her base of support, and down she topples! Alternatively, if she lowers her center of gravity over the tightrope—by squatting, or by holding onto a long pole—she can better keep her balance. I’d say her act deserves a round of applause!
