overturning

Overturning is the act of turning something over or reversing its status. In everyday language it can describe physical tipping, as when a container or vehicle topples, or more abstract reversals such as overturning a court ruling or a policy.

In mechanics, overturning occurs when the moment that tends to tip a body about a pivot exceeds the restoring moment provided by gravity and the support base. The tendency to overturn depends on the position of the center of gravity relative to the base of support; when it moves beyond a critical limit, tipping occurs.

In naval architecture and marine engineering, overturning refers to a vessel’s tendency to capsize under external loads like waves and wind. Stability analysis uses concepts such as the righting arm and the metacentric height to assess whether the righting moments can counteract the heeling moments produced by weight distribution and external forces.

In civil engineering, overturning stability is a concern for retaining structures and other earth-retaining systems. The factor of safety against overturning compares resisting moments that oppose tipping to overturning moments caused by lateral earth pressures and loads. Design codes specify minimum safety factors to guard against unstable tipping.

Geology uses the term to describe overturned strata, where rock layers have been rotated from near-horizontal into slopes that dip in the opposite direction to their original order, complicating stratigraphic interpretation.

In law and policy, overturning a ruling means reversing it by a higher court or legislative action. An appellate court may overturn a verdict, or legislation may overturn existing regulations or a veto with new laws.