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    Perpetual motion and Newton's first law

    This might be a very stupid question. But let me still ask. :) Perpetual motion is not possible. But by Newton's first law, a body remains in its state of motion unless an external force acts on it. Now, I wonder if the statement "perpetual motion is not possible" is true only in a practical...
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    Gravitational Potential Energy: Feynman's "3 Balls" Example

    Thanks Michael. That sounds convincing.
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    Acceleration due to centripetal acceleration

    I agree. Just wondering, then does it not answer the question: "if there was acceleration toward the centre, then why doesn't the distance from the centre to the object reduce?"
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    Acceleration due to centripetal acceleration

    Can you please explain what you meant by that relation? What I meant was, in circular motion, isn't the centripetal force canceled by centrifugal force, and hence there is no motion towards the center?
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    Gravitational Potential Energy: Feynman's "3 Balls" Example

    That's what he is trying to derive, without any assumptions. Because he then goes on to proving X <= 1 ft. Right? Intuitively, if we know " moving 3 balls by a distance X each is equivalent to moving 1 ball a distance 3X", we are not deriving the equation, we are using it, right?
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    Acceleration due to centripetal acceleration

    Isn't the centripetal force balanced by a reaction force- centrfugal force?
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    Gravitational Potential Energy: Feynman's "3 Balls" Example

    Feynman's lecture on physics: chapter 4 derives equation for gravitational potential energy by a "lifting 3 balls" example. The book notes: "But the strange thing is that, in a certain way of speaking, we have not lifted two of them at all because, after all, there were balls on shelves 2 and...
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    Query on explanation for electromagnetic field - Feynman lectures on physics

    In 2-5, an analogy is given for electromagnetic field: two corks in water, and the effect of jiggling one cork on the other (probably the up and down motion). Now, that sounded more like water is a medium propagating the energy. But the electromagnetic waves require no medium for propagation...
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