Newton's Law of Motion

Newton, Sir Isaac ( 1642-1727)

A mathematician and physicist, Newton is one of the foremost scientific

intellects of all time. Born at Woolsthorpe, near Grantham in Lincolshire, where he
attended school, he entered Cambridge University in 1661; he was elected a Fellow
of Trinity College in 1667, and Lucasian Professor of Mathematics in 1669. He
remained at the university, lecturing in most years, until 1696. Of these Cambridge
years, in which Newton was at the height of his creative power, he singled out 1665-
1666 ( spent largely in Lincolnshire because of plague in Cambridge) as " the prime
of my age for invention". During two to three years of intense mental effort he
prepared Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica ( Mathematical Principles of
Natural Philosophy), commonly known as the principia, although this was not
published until 1687. In 665, at the age of 23, Newton developed his famous Laws of
Motion.

THE CONCEPTS OF NEWTON’S FIRST LAW OF MOTION

 Newton's first law states that every object will remain at rest or in uniform
motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of
an external force.
 This is normally taken as the definition of inertia.
 Inertia is a property of matter by which it continues in its existing state of rest
or uniform motion in a straight line, unless that state is changed by an external
force.
 The key point here is that if there is no net force acting on an object (if all the
external forces cancel each other out) then the object will maintain a constant
velocity.
 If that velocity is zero, then the object remains at rest. If an external force is
applied, the velocity will change because of the force.

Everyday Applications of Newton's First Law

There are many applications of Newton's first law of motion. Consider some of
your experiences in an automobile. Have you ever observed the behavior of coffee in
a coffee cup filled to the rim while starting a car from rest or while bringing a car to
rest from a state of motion? Coffee "keeps on doing what it is doing." When you
accelerate a car from rest, the road provides an unbalanced force on the spinning
wheels to push the car forward; yet the coffee (that was at rest) wants to stay at
rest. While the car accelerates forward, the coffee remains in the same position;
subsequently, the car accelerates out from under the coffee and the coffee spills in
your lap. On the other hand, when braking from a state of motion the coffee
continues forward with the same speed and in the same direction, ultimately
hitting the windshield or the dash. Coffee in motion stays in motion.
Have you ever experienced inertia (resisting changes in your state of motion) in
an automobile while it is braking to a stop? The force of the road on the locked
wheels provides the unbalanced force to change the car's state of motion, yet there
is no unbalanced force to change your own state of motion. Thus, you continue in
motion, sliding along the seat in forward motion. A person in motion stays in motion
with the same speed and in the same direction ... unless acted upon by the
unbalanced force of a seat belt. Yes! Seat belts are used to provide safety for
passengers whose motion is governed by Newton's laws. The seat belt provides the
unbalanced force that brings you from a state of motion to a state of rest. Perhaps
you could speculate what would occur when no seat belt is used.
THE CONCEPTS OF NEWTON’S SECOND LAW OF MOTION

 The second law explains how the velocity of an object changes when it is
subjected to an external force.
 The law defines a force to be equal to change in momentum (mass times
velocity) per change in time.
 For an object with a constant mass m, the second law states that the force F
is the product of an object's mass and its acceleration a:

 F=m*a

 This is also translated to force equals mass times acceleration. As the law
was explained above, if you multiply the mass times the acceleration of an
object you get the force that object is exerting. On the other hand, you can
change this problem around to find the mass or the acceleration of the
object.
 For example, you can change the equation to A = F/M or M = F/A, which
translates into acceleration equals force divided by mass or mass equals
force divided by acceleration. The three factors all connected based on
Newton’s law.
 For an external applied force, the change in velocity depends on the mass of
the object. A force will cause a change in velocity; and likewise, a change in
velocity will generate a force. The equation works both ways .

Real Life Examples of Newton’s Second Law

You can find examples of Newton’s Second Law throughout your life. For
example, you may realize, when looking for a car that the miles per gallon of a
sports utility vehicle is always lower than that of a standard car.

The reason behind this is explained in Newton’s Second Law. The mass of a
sports utility vehicle is much greater than that of a car, which means that it requires
more force to accelerate it at the same amount. If you were driving a car 65 mph on
a freeway for 40 miles, you will undoubtedly use much less gasoline than if you
were to drive at the same speed for the same distance in a SUV.
 The same thing can be applied to any moving object. Say you have a friend
who is several pounds smaller than you, but they walk exerting the same amount of
force as you. Your friend will go a good deal faster than you because their
acceleration would undoubtedly be higher.

One of the main reasons why people constantly try to reduce the mass of
objects is to be able to increase its speed and acceleration. As mentioned before,
all of the factors have an effect on each other. If something has much more mass,
then exerting more force will make it move faster. It’s the reason why a small child
won’t be able to throw a football the same distance as a professional, since the
child would be unable to exert the same amount of force that the football player
would.

THE CONCEPTS OF NEWTON’S THIRD LAW OF MOTION

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

 The statement means that in every interaction, there is a pair of forces

acting on the two interacting objects. 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. Forces always come in pairs - equal and opposite
action-reaction force pairs. 
Examples of Interaction Force Pairs
Example 1.)
Consider the flying motion of birds. 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. The size of the force on the air equals the size of
the force on the bird; the direction of the force on the air (downwards) is opposite
the direction of the force on the bird (upwards). For every action, there is an equal
(in size) and opposite (in direction) reaction. Action-reaction force pairs make it
possible for birds to fly.

Example 2.)
Consider the motion of a car on the way to school. 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 size of the force on the road equals the size of the
force on the wheels (or car); the direction of the force on the road (backwards) is
opposite the direction of the force on the wheels (forwards). For every action, there
is an equal (in size) and opposite (in direction) reaction. Action-reaction force pairs
make it possible for cars to move along a roadway surface.