Physics

Posted at 04:07h in Physics by tsa 0 Comments

1 Like

The universe is a constant flurry of activity. At any given instant, the invisible electrons buzz busily
within atoms, vehicles start and stop amid crowded intersections, planes jet across the skies, and the
most massive of celestial bodies whirl about each other in a grand cosmic waltz. All things, seen and
unseen, alive and inanimate, are in a state of constant motion.

However, precisely because movement is an ever-present part of our existence, we often take for
granted how these motions arise and the laws that govern them.

Forces, defined as a push or a pull, are what ultimately determines how an object will move. The
study of Newtonian Mechanics in physics provides a detailed mathematical framework of how forces
affect an object. Fundamental to the entirety of Newtonian Mechanics are Newton’s 3 laws of
motion.

In this article, we hope to shed some light on these three laws and explain how forces, though
unseen, influence an object’s journey in space and time.

A Brief History of Newton’s Laws

Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion have their roots in the work of Galileo Galilei and his basic principle of
relativity. In Galileo’s 1632 book, “Dialogue concerning the Two Chief World Systems”, he
describes that a person on a ship moving at a fixed speed in a single direction in smooth water would
have no sense of movement by himself. Cannonballs dropped from a mast would thus land at its foot
and not land backwards nearer the stern as was common intuition.
This basic idea that a system moving at a constant speed in a straight line is indistinguishable from
one that is at rest provided the basis for Newton to formulate his 3 laws of motion.

Newton presented his 3 Laws of Motion in his ground-breaking work, “Principia Mathematica
Philosophiae Naturalis” in 1686. It has since become an important piece of scientific literature that
forms the basis of much of classical physics.

Let us now take a closer look at each of the three laws.

Newton’s First Law

Newton’s First Law asserts that all objects tend to resist changes in their present state of motion.
Simply put, without the interference of an external force, an object at rest will stay at rest; and an
object in motion will continue to move.

This inherent laziness is also referred to as “inertia”. The greater an object’s mass, the greater it’s
inertia thus requiring a larger force to deviate from its current state of motion.

Though it may be unintuitive at times, here are a few real-life examples to help you wrap your head
around it.

Generally, inertia can be broken down into 3 categories:

Inertia of Rest

An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an external force.

The famous parlour trick where a tablecloth is pulled quickly from under a table full of dishes
perfectly demonstrates inertia of rest.

In this case, the dishes wanting to remain at rest will only move when an external force is applied,
and in this case, this force is provided by the friction of the tablecloth. Provided that the cloth is
pulled out from underneath the table quickly enough, the friction is unable to provide a force large
enough to pull the dishes along, leaving the crockery undamaged on the table sans tablecloth.

Inertia of Motion

A moving object will continue to move unless acted on by an external force.

Believe it or not, we experience the effects of this type of inertia daily. Most of us being no strangers
to public transport would understand the daily struggle of balancing ourselves while standing on a
crowded bus or train carriage.

It is second nature to us to brace ourselves when the vehicle comes to a stop. As our bodies are
moving at the same speed of the bus or the train, upon an abrupt deceleration, our bodies move
forward faster than the vehicle itself resulting in us being propelled forward if we are not properly
secured to our seats. The reverse is true when accelerating as well, with our bodies initially at rest,
the vehicle moves forward from under our feet resulting in our bodies being left behind.

Be it during acceleration or deceleration, just remember to hold on tight whenever you are travelling
on the bus or MRT!

Inertia of Direction

An object moving in one direction will continue to move in the same direction unless acted on by an
external force.

Referencing the example from above, inertia of direction is directly observable when a bus turns a
corner. If you are a passenger in that bus, inertia causes your body to resist the change in direction.
Your body thus travels in a straight line while the rest of the bus moves along the curved path. To the
other (secured) passengers, you will appear to be flung out towards the walls as your path deviates
from that of the bus.

There are plenty more phenomena involving inertia in the world around us, take your time to observe
your surroundings and you will be certain to catch inertia in action.

Why is it important?

While it is easy to take the law of inertia for granted, a deep understanding of inertia and its effects
has led to various discoveries and applications. Needless to say, vehicular safety in the form of seat
belts, air bags and car seats is one such example. Beyond that, the law of inertia also forms the
underlying mechanism behind centrifuges which are used to separate mixtures in chemistry and
biology.
Newton’s Second Law of Motion

While Newton’s First Law told you how an object would behave in the absence of a net external
force, Newton’s Second Law tells us how an object would act in the presence of an external net
force.

In its simplest form, Newton’s Second Law of motion states the net force acting on an object is equal
to the product of the object’s mass and acceleration.

The second law provides a clear quantitative relationship between the forces applied, the inertia and
the object’s change in motion.

Suppose your car broke down in the middle of the road and in order to prevent the obstruction of
traffic, you proceed to push it out of the way after enlisting the help of several other helpful
motorists. After the force applied has been overcome the frictional and resistive forces, the remaining
force leftover would be used to increase the speed of the car from rest; in other words, accelerate the
car. Newton’s Second Law says that the car will speed up at a rate equal to the amount of net force
divided by its mass.

Force and the Acceleration of an Object

As the acceleration of the car is proportional to the net force applied, suppose you enlisted the help
of more people. With your combined strength, this would produce a greater net force, resulting in a
corresponding increase in the acceleration.

Force and the Mass of an Object

If however, you replaced the car with a motorcycle and applied the same net force, the motorcycle
being much less massive would produce a much larger acceleration. On the other hand, a broken-
down bus would accelerate at a much slower rate due to the larger mass.
Why is it Important?

Newton’s second law is a straightforward presentation of the relationship between forces and the
motion of objects. In the scientific world, it is used to calculate all kinds of scenarios involving
forces and motion. With that knowledge, we can predict certain scenarios with precision, such as the
trajectory of an airplane and even the acceleration of a rocket. Evidently, it is an indispensable
knowledge that has enabled mankind to create inventions that are literally out of this world.

Newton’s Third Law of Motion

Newton’s third law postulates that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Newton was a keen observer of his surroundings, through his observations he realized the existence
of action-reaction force pairs.

He theorized that for every interaction between two objects, there exist a pair of forces – action and
reaction acting on both interacting objects. Furthermore, this pair of forces always oppose each other
and are equal in magnitude.
In nature, Newton’s third law can be observed in the movement of animals. For example, a bird
taking flight flaps its wings, this action pushes the air particles underneath its wings down. A
reaction takes place simultaneously in which the air particles push the bird up, resulting in a lifting
force.

Another subtle example of Newton’s third law happens even when we are walking. When we walk
we are applying a force on the ground, simultaneously the ground applies an equal force on our foot
which pushes us forward.

Why Is It Important?

As a result of this discovery, scientists learned how to work with naturally occurring forces to cross
frontiers, including building rockets to the moon and beyond. Newton’s third law was used as the
foundation in building rocket engines that could create enough thrust for take-off.

Within the combustion chamber of a rocket, engine fuel is burnt and hot exhaust gas is produced.
This gas is accelerated through the engine and expelled at the rear end of the rocket. In this case, fuel
combustion produces oxidized fuel molecules that accelerate away from the rocket (action).
Simultaneously, the rocket experiences an opposing acceleration (reaction) which is the thrust that
propels it upwards.

Evidently, Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion are an integral part of the scientific community. From
understanding basic natural phenomena to building rockets to explore outer space, Newton has
undoubtedly gifted humankind with the key to unlimited potential.

Force and Motion

In physics, we come across various motions of a body. What causes the motion of an object? The
answer is a force. What stops an object under motion? The answer is Force. Thus, in general Force
and Motion are like two sides of a coin. Example: the interdependence of force and motion is seen in
throwing a ball and catching a ball. Let us first understand the meaning of force and motion
individually and then the relation between them.

Force
We can say that force is a push or pull acting on an object or energy as an attribute of physical action
or movement. This occurs when two entities are in contact. According to the universal law of
gravitation, every object in this universe exerts a force on others. The force acting on an object is
given by the following parameter:

 SI unit of Force: newton(N) or kg.m/s2

 Symbol of Force: F
 Type of quantity: Vector quantity
 Dimensional Formula: M1L1T-2
 Other units: dyne, pound-force, kilopond, poundal, kip

For example, if there are two bodies of mass M and m, and they are kept in such a way that the body
with mass m is resting over the body with mass M. In physics we say that these two bodies will exert
forces on each other. So we can say that whenever there is an interaction of two or more bodies,
force is a part of the interaction.

Motion
In simple words, whenever a body is moving, we say it is in motion. For instance, if a boy is walking
down the street from his school to his home, we will say that the boy is in motion. But imagine if the
boy stops for 5 minutes in the way and sits down. If someone asks at that time if the boy is in motion,
the answer will be ‘No’. From this, we can infer that the motion of a body is dependent on time. In
physics, we say that motion is the change in the position of a body with respect to time.

Force and Motion Relation

Force and motion are deeply related in nature. We can say that force is the cause of motion. Suppose
something is moving, we can say that some force must be acting on it or some force must have acted
on it which produced this motion. If a person is walking, and hence in motion, there must be some
force acting on it which is making him move. What is this force? This force is the muscular force of
his body.

Before we delve into the relationship between force and motion, let us first take a quick look into
what is meant by force. Simply put, force is either a push or a pull. Force is defined as “any
interaction that, when unopposed, will change the motion of an object”. By the definition itself, it is
clear that force affects the state of motion of an object.

But what exactly is does state of motion mean? In physics, motion is defined as the change in
position with respect to time. In simpler words, motion refers to the movement of a body.
Typically, motion can either be described as

 Change in speed, or
 Change in direction.

Sir Isaac Newton was the first person to discover the relation between motion and force. From his
studies in force and laws of motion we can come to the following three conclusions:

 Force can accelerate the body

 Force decelerate the body
 Force can change the direction of the moving body

Force Can Cause a Body To Accelerate

When force is applied to a body in rest, it starts to move, provided that there is no greater force
opposing it. When you throw the ball towards the batsman while playing cricket, the ball starts to
move forward from its initial position of rest in your hands.

When something begins to move from a state of rest, it accelerates. Acceleration can be described as
a positive change in velocity over a period of time.
Similarly, if force is applied in the same direction of movement of a moving object, it accelerates.
For example, if you rotate the pedal of a bicycle, it will go faster.

Force Can Cause a Body To Decelerate

On the other side of the spectrum, if force is applied on the opposite direction of a moving object, it
will decelerate or slow down and eventually stop altogether if the force is continued to be applied.
For example, when a goalkeeper stops a ball, he causes it to decelerate and stop.

Force Can Cause a Body To Change Directions

When force is applied on an object in an angle different to its direction of motion, it causes the object
to change motion. Almost every ball game uses this principle. The speed can be maintained if the
force is applied in a perpendicular angle but the velocity will change.

Force and Motion Formula

From Newton’s second law of motion, the relationship between Force and motion can be
mathematically expressed as:
  Force is defined as the product of mass m and acceleration a and is given as:
F=m.a
 Motion is explained using laws of motion and is defined as the particle’s behaviour when in motion
and is given as:

here,
 s is the position of the particle
 s0 is the initial position of the particle
 v0 is the initial velocity of the particle
 a is the acceleration
 t is the time
To wrap up, force and motion are two heavily connected entities. Force can result in the acceleration,
deceleration, change in direction or total cessation of motion

Derivation of Equations of Motion

Equations of motion of kinematics describe the basic concept of the motion of an object such as the
position, velocity or acceleration of an object at various times. These three equations of motion
govern the motion of an object in 1D, 2D and 3D. The derivation of the equations of motion is one of
the most important topics in Physics. In this article, we will show you how to derive the first, second
and third equation of motion by graphical method, algebraic method and calculus method.

Derivation of First Equation of Motion by Graphical Method

The first equation of motion can be derived using a velocity-time graph for a moving object with an
initial velocity of u, final velocity v, and acceleration a.

In the above graph,

 The velocity of the body changes from A to B in time t at a uniform rate.

 BC is the final velocity and OC is the total time t.
  A perpendicular is drawn from B to OC, a parallel line is drawn from A to D, and another
perpendicular is drawn from B to OE (represented by dotted lines).

The following details are obtained from the graph above:

The initial velocity of the body, u = OA
The final velocity of the body, v = BC
From the graph, we know that
BC = BD + DC
Therefore, v = BD + DC
v = BD + OA (since DC = OA)
Finally,
v = BD + u (since OA = u) (Equation 1)
Now, since the slope of a velocity-time graph is equal to acceleration a.
So,
a = slope of line AB
a = BD/AD
Since AD = AC = t, the above equation becomes:
BD = at (Equation 2)
Now, combining Equation 1 & 2, the following is obtained: