Virtual work arises in the application of the principle of least action to the study of forces and movement of a mechanical system. Historically, virtual work and the associated calculus of variations were formulated to analyze systems of rigid bodies, but they have also been developed for the study of the mechanics of deformable bodies.
Read more about Virtual Work: Explanation, History, Introduction, Static Equilibrium, One Degree-of-freedom Mechanisms, Law of The Lever, Gear Train, Virtual Work Principle For A Rigid Body, Virtual Work Principle For A Deformable Body, Alternative Forms
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