Chapter 12, Problem 34P

In Fig. 12-45, a thin horizontal bar AB of negligible weight and length L is hinged to a vertical wall at A and supported at B by a thin wire BC that makes an angle θ with the horizontal. A block of weight W can be moved anywhere along the bar; its position is defined by the distance x from the wall to its center of mass. As a function of x, find (a) the tension in the wire, and the (b) horizontal and (c) vertical components of the force on the bar from the hinge at A.

Figure 12-45