Where does center of gravity collide?

In physics, the centre of gravity of a body is the single point at which its total weight can be taken to act, so that the body's response to gravity is as if all its mass were concentrated there; in a uniform field it coincides with the centre of mass. Newton's Principia (1687) treats bodies as acting through such a point in developing the mechanics of motion and attraction. The referent is a precisely defined geometric point fixed by a body's mass distribution, and it bears only a name in common with the strategic hub of an adversary's power.[1]

Unit

The position of the mass-weighted balance point of a body

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Determined from the mass distribution as the weighted mean position of the body's parts, or found experimentally by balancing or suspension

In military strategy, the centre of gravity (Clausewitz's Schwerpunkt) is the source of an adversary's power and cohesion (an army, a capital, an alliance, or a leader's will), against which effort should be concentrated because striking it unbalances the whole. Clausewitz's On war (1832) introduces it as the hub of all power on which everything depends, the proper focal point of a campaign. The referent is a judgement about where an opponent's strength is concentrated, borrowing the mechanical image but denoting a strategic concept rather than a computable balance point; conflating it with the physics term is a well-known source of doctrinal confusion.[2]

Unit

The element of an adversary's power whose defeat most undermines the whole

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Identified by analytic judgement of which source of strength holds an adversary's capability together