Newton’s Laws
Sir Isaac Newton, the man who developed the first theories of gravitation, also introduced the three laws of motion. These laws essentially changed the field of physics in an astounding manner – it paved the way to modern science. Let’s look at these laws in some more detail:
Newton’s first law:
It states that an object will remain at rest or in a uniform motion, unless an external force acts on it. This is basically also the definition for inertia. In other words, the state of motion of an object will not change unless there’s an external force that acts to change this motion. Therefore, velocity is either zero, or remains constant.
Newton’s second law:
This describes the change in velocity of an object when acted upon by an external force. Thus, the force exerted on an object is equal to the constant mass of the object multiplied by the change in its velocity over time (acceleration). Mass times velocity is also known as momentum. When it is mentioned that momentum changes over time, it is the exact same concept as mass times acceleration. The formula for Newton’s second law is …show more content…
The units for this equation is in Newtons (N), or kilograms times meters per squared second (kg x m/s2), when using SI units. Here’s an example of the formula in use:
If a man pushes a box that has a mass of 1kg, and the box has a constant acceleration of 2m/s2, what is the magnitude of the force that the man exerts on the box, ignoring friction?
F = m x
Sir Isaac Newton, the man who developed the first theories of gravitation, also introduced the three laws of motion. These laws essentially changed the field of physics in an astounding manner – it paved the way to modern science. Let’s look at these laws in some more detail:
Newton’s first law:
It states that an object will remain at rest or in a uniform motion, unless an external force acts on it. This is basically also the definition for inertia. In other words, the state of motion of an object will not change unless there’s an external force that acts to change this motion. Therefore, velocity is either zero, or remains constant.
Newton’s second law:
This describes the change in velocity of an object when acted upon by an external force. Thus, the force exerted on an object is equal to the constant mass of the object multiplied by the change in its velocity over time (acceleration). Mass times velocity is also known as momentum. When it is mentioned that momentum changes over time, it is the exact same concept as mass times acceleration. The formula for Newton’s second law is …show more content…
The units for this equation is in Newtons (N), or kilograms times meters per squared second (kg x m/s2), when using SI units. Here’s an example of the formula in use:
If a man pushes a box that has a mass of 1kg, and the box has a constant acceleration of 2m/s2, what is the magnitude of the force that the man exerts on the box, ignoring friction?
F = m x