Newton's Law

Newton's laws of motion are three fundamental principles in physics that describe the
relationship between a body and the forces acting upon it. These laws, which were first
presented by Sir Isaac Newton in the late 17th century, have had a profound impact on our
understanding of the natural world and have numerous applications in various fields such as
engineering, astronomy, and sports. Here's a breakdown of each law:
*Newton's First Law of Motion (Law of Inertia):*
- An object at rest remains at rest, and an object in motion remains in motion, unless acted upon
by an external force.
- This law implies that a force is required to change the state of motion or rest of an object.
- The law of inertia applies to all objects, big or small, and is a fundamental concept in
understanding the behavior of matter.
*Newton's Second Law of Motion (Law of Acceleration):*
- The force applied to an object is equal to the mass of the object multiplied by its acceleration.
- This law is often expressed mathematically as F = ma, where F is the force, m is the mass, and
a is the acceleration.
- The second law shows that the more massive an object is, the less it will accelerate when a
given force is applied.
*Newton's Third Law of Motion (Law of Action and Reaction):*
- For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

- This law states that when two objects interact, they apply forces to one another that are equal
in magnitude and opposite in direction.
- The third law applies to all interactions between objects and is a fundamental principle in
understanding the behavior of physical systems.
These three laws form the foundation of classical mechanics and have far-reaching implications
in our understanding of the physical world.
Newton's First Law of Motion states that ¹ ² ³ ⁴ ⁵:
- An object at rest remains at rest, and an object in motion remains in motion, unless acted upon
by an external force.
- This law implies that a force is required to change the state of motion or rest of an object.
- The law applies whether the object is moving or stationary.
- The law of inertia was first formulated by Galileo Galilei for horizontal motion on Earth and was
later generalized by René Descartes.
- In classical Newtonian mechanics, there is no important distinction between rest and uniform
motion in a straight line; they may be regarded as the same state of motion seen by different
observers.
For example, a rolling ball or other object only slows down because of forces like gravity and
friction. Even more intuitively, a resting ball isn’t going anywhere unless given a nudge or a toss.
Given this law, a ball thrown in the vacuum of space would, theoretically, keep traveling at the
same speed for as long as it could avoid impacts with celestial bodies and their pulls of gravity!
Newton's Second Law of Motion states that ¹ ² ³ ⁴ ⁵:
- The force applied to an object is equal to the mass of the object multiplied by its acceleration.
- This law is often expressed mathematically as F = ma, where F is the force, m is the mass, and
a is the acceleration.
- The larger the mass of the object, the greater the force will need to be to cause it to accelerate.
- The law also explains deceleration or slowing down, which can be thought of as acceleration
with a negative sign on it.
- The acceleration of an object as produced by a net force is directly proportional to the
magnitude of the net force, in the same direction as the net force, and inversely proportional to
the mass of the object.
- The acceleration of an object depends directly upon the net force acting upon the object, and
inversely upon the mass of the object. As the force acting upon an object is increased, the
acceleration of the object is increased. As the mass of an object is increased, the acceleration of
the object is decreased.
Newton's Third Law of Motion states that ¹ ² ³ ⁴:
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
When two bodies interact, they apply forces to one another that are equal in magnitude and
opposite in direction.
Forces result from interactions, and there are two forces resulting from this interaction - a force
on the first object and a force on the second object.
These two forces are called action and reaction forces.
The size of the forces on the first object equals the size of the force on the second object.
The direction of the force on the first object is opposite to the direction of the force on the
second object.
Examples:
- A fish uses its fins to push water backwards, but a push on the water will only serve to
accelerate the water. Since forces result from mutual interactions, the water must also be
pushing the fish forwards, propelling the fish through the water.
- A bird flies by use of its wings. The wings of a bird push air downwards. Since forces result
from mutual interactions, the air must also be pushing the bird upwards.
- A car is equipped with wheels that spin. As the wheels spin, they grip the road and push the
road backwards. Since forces result from mutual interactions, the road must also be pushing the
wheels forward.
The Law of Universal Gravitation, also known as the Gravitational Law, was first proposed by Sir
Isaac Newton in 1687. It states that:
"Every point mass attracts every other point mass by a force acting along the line intersecting
both points. The force is proportional to the product of the two masses and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance between them."
Mathematically, this is expressed as:
F = G * (m1 * m2) / r^2
Where:
- F is the gravitational force between the two masses

- G is the gravitational constant (6.67408e-11 N*m^2/kg^2)
- m1 and m2 are the masses of the two objects
- r is the distance between the centers of the two objects
This law applies to all objects with mass, from small rocks to entire galaxies. It explains
phenomena such as:
- The falling of objects on Earth

- The motion of planets and their moons
- The behavior of comets and asteroids
- The bending of light around massive objects (gravitational lensing)
The Gravitational Law has had a profound impact on our understanding of the universe, and it
remains a fundamental principle in physics and astronomy.

Newton's Law

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Newton's Law

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Newton's Law

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Newton's laws of motion are three fundamental principles in physics that describe the

Newton's First Law of Motion (Law of Inertia):

Newton's Second Law of Motion (Law of Acceleration):

Newton's Third Law of Motion (Law of Action and Reaction):

- For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Newton's Third Law of Motion states that ¹ ² ³ ⁴:

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

These two forces are called action and reaction forces.

F = G * (m1 * m2) / r^2

- F is the gravitational force between the two masses

- The falling of objects on Earth

You might also like