Newton's law Definition and 351 Threads

In classical mechanics, Newton's laws of motion are three laws that describe the relationship between the motion of an object and the forces acting on it. The first law states that an object either remains at rest or continues to move at a constant velocity, unless it is acted upon by an external force. The second law states that the rate of change of momentum of an object is directly proportional to the force applied, or, for an object with constant mass, that the net force on an object is equal to the mass of that object multiplied by the acceleration. The third law states that when one object exerts a force on a second object, that second object exerts a force that is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction on the first object.
The three laws of motion were first compiled by Isaac Newton in his Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), first published in 1687. Newton used them to explain and investigate the motion of many physical objects and systems, which laid the foundation for Newtonian mechanics.

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  1. T

    What is the frictional force on the block in each experiment?

    In Figure 6-63, a block weighing 22 N is held at rest against a vertical wall by a horizontal force of magnitude 60 N. The coefficient of static friction between the wall and the block is 0.55, and the coefficient of kinetic friction between them is 0.38. In six experiments, a second force is...
  2. B

    Newton's Law question, Not sure if right

    Homework Statement [PLAIN]http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/9987/forcediagram.png In the figure above, two small objects (magnets for instance) of the same mass exert forces on each other of a magnitude F. When object A is subjected to an external force of 3.6x10^-2 N, A accelerates at...
  3. T

    What Is the Maximum Force to Move Two Stacked Blocks Together?

    A block of mass m1 = 4 kg is put on top of a block of mass m2 = 5 kg. To cause the top block to slip on the bottom one while the bottom one is held fixed, a horizontal force of at least 12N must be applied to the top block. The assembly of blocks is now placed on a horizontal, frictionless...
  4. J

    Newton's law, normal force, acceleration

    A 75 kg person is standing on a bathroom scale in an elevator. The scale is calibrated to read in Newtons. The elevator is accelerating upward at 135 m/s2. What is the reading on the scale? What apparent value of g does the man give? The Free Body Diagram Normal on the man, upward...
  5. J

    Normal force, friction, Newton's law

    While moving in, a new homeowner is pushing a box across the floor at a constant velocity. The coefficient of kinetic friction between the box and the floor is 0.41. The pushing force is directed downward at an angle θ below the horizontal. When θ is greater than a certain value, it is not...
  6. X

    Solving Newton's Law Problem: Force on the Rope w/ 56N Sled

    Homework Statement A child holds a sled on a frictionless, snow-covered hill, inclined at an angle of 25 degrees.If the sled weighs 56 N, find the force exerted on the rope by the child. Homework Equations \SigmaF=ma The Attempt at a Solution I set up a right triangle with 56N as...
  7. M

    Newton's Law of Gravitation Feynman Lectures

    Hi all, I've been reading the Feynman Lectures on Physics and I've stumbled on something. I understand the theory but not how they arrived at the answer. It's to do with firing a bullet from a gun and working out the speed it would need to travel in a curve around the Earth's surface in order...
  8. S

    Newton's Law Of Universal Gravitation

    Can anyone tell me that why we take r square instead of r?
  9. A

    NEWTON'S LAW OF COOLING using differential equations

    1. LAW OF COOLING PROBLEM!HELP PLEASE! :) At 1:00pm, Sally puts into a refrigerator a can of soda that has been sitting of temperature 70degF. The temperature in the refrigerator is 40degF. fifteen minutes later 1:15pm, the temperature of the soda has fallen to 60degF. At some time later, Sally...
  10. B

    When was the thermometer brought indoors?

    Homework Statement at t=0; thermometer reading (x) =80 F (taken outside where the air temp is 20 F) at t=3; x=42 F then the thermometer is brought inside where the air is at 80 F. at t=10; x=71 F When was the thermometer brought indoors? Homework Equations temp=ambient temperature; x= present...
  11. J

    How Does Friction Affect Acceleration in High-Performance Race Cars?

    Air rushing over the wings of high-performance race cars generates unwanted horizontal air resistance but also causes a vertical downforce, which helps the cars hug the track more securely. The coefficient of static friction between the track and the tires of a 690-kg race car is 0.87. What is...
  12. T

    Exploring Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation

    High guys, I've always had problems with this law at the way it was explained.But now I've seen lewin explaining that way that bothers me: In terms of sensations.At 1:50 http://youtu.be/M_8w-dD4RBE What I think is that we "feel" the pull only because we are made of multiple particles...
  13. F

    How Do You Calculate Tan A Using Slide Times t1 and t2 on a Smooth Wedge?

    Homework Statement A smooth wedge, whose central cross-section is a triangle ABC, right-angled at C, rests with the face containing AB on a smooth horizontal plane. When the wedge is held fixed, a particle released from rest, takes a time t1 to slide the full length of CA. The corresponding...
  14. D

    Exploring Newton's Law of Cooling for Estimating Time of Death: Pros and Cons

    can i kw why Newton's law of cooling is used for estimating the time of death? what are its advantages and disadvantages?
  15. H

    Application of Newton's law of cooling to biophysics experiment

    Hi All, I am hoping to create an equation which I can use to describe the thermodynamic properties of microhabitats used by Chuckwalla lizards. Basically,the habitat in question is a crevice that is shaped like a rectangular prism within an igneous rock. I am trying to develop an equation that...
  16. A

    Newton's law and energy of conservation

    hi everyone... i was recently thinking about a generator that would work as per the principle of electrostatics, the capacitor in specific... the system i had thought of had two parallel charged capacitor plates with air as the dielectric medium and with minimum leakage current... between...
  17. O

    Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation Problem

    Homework Statement Answers: 56. 6.16 x 10^17 N, 57. 894 N Homework Equations Fg = G*m1*m2/r^2 g = G*M/r^2 The Attempt at a Solution 56. Since the closest planet to Z is Y I figured the gravitational force could be calculated by just finding the gravitational force between Z and Y...
  18. C

    Approximating Ellipse Orbits with Newton's Law

    How do you approximate the ellipse of an object's orbit using Newton's law of universal gravitation? I'm working on a 2D space game and that's pretty much the only physics I use, so no other forces to consider.
  19. S

    Can the force of 1.50N accelerate a 0.20kg cart to a speed of 6.70m/s?

    Work energy or Newton's law? I have a question and solution(from book) too: Question: A force of 1.50N acts on a 0.20kg cart so as to accelerate it along an air track. The track and force are horizontal and in line. How fast is the cart going after acceleration from rest through 30cm, if...
  20. S

    Force of Gravity question, with Newton's Law of Gravitation

    Hi, I'm new here and I hope I'm posting in the right place. I have a question regarding Newton's Law of Gravitation, and it involves the formula: F = GMm/r^2 You know, where F = Force of Gravity, G = 6.67e-11N*m^2, then M and m are two masses, and then r is the distance between the two masses...
  21. M

    Newton's Law of Cooling air temperature

    Homework Statement At 1:00PM, a thermometer reading 70oF is taken outside where the air temperature is -10oF. At 1:02PM, the reading is 26oF. At 1:05PM, the thermometer is taken back indoors, where the air is at 70oF. What is the temperature reading at 1:09PM? Homework Equations The Attempt at...
  22. B

    Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation (Differential Equation Question)

    I'm having trouble with part a) of this question... [PLAIN]http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/5815/98157006.png So I started off by solving the DE above a), and I've gotten it down to: \frac{1}{2} m v^{2} = \frac{mgR^{2}}{(x + R)} + C I can tell I'm getting close, but I'm a little...
  23. A

    Newton's Law of Cooling Problem

    Homework Statement A small metal bar, whose initial temperature was 20 degrees C is dropped into a large container of boiling water. How long will it take the bar to reach 90 degrees C if it is known that its temperature increases 2 degrees in 1 second. How long will it take the bar to reach...
  24. A

    Proving Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation

    Given F is directly proportional to the product of m1 and m2. F is also inversely proportional to the r^2. F, m1, m2 and r are real numbers. Why we can link the above two variations together and say that F=km1m2/r^2, where k is the proportionality constant? Aren't the the variations...
  25. H

    Do Newton's Laws Predict Equal Forces Between Two Bodies of Similar Mass?

    I am struggling to understand Newtons law: F = ma = GMm/r^2 a = GM/r^2 In the above equation, the small m's cancel out to give a constant acceleration due to gravity from the perspective of big M. I consider a planet and a small moon (little m) a certain distance away from the planet...
  26. M

    What is the unknown temperature in the fridge?

    Homework Statement First a glass of milk is put outside the refidgerator to heat, and its temperature changes from 6 degrees C to 13 C after two hours. When the temperature of the milk is 15 C the glass is put inside a refridgerator. the problem is to find the ambient temperature in a...
  27. S

    Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation on the moon

    Homework Statement During a solar eclipse, the Moon, the Earth, and the Sun all lie on the same line, with the Moon between the Earth and the Sun. (a) What force is exerted by the sun on the moon? (b) What force is exerted by the Earth on the Moon? (c) What force is exerted by the sun on the...
  28. J

    Newton's law of gravity problem

    Homework Statement After a spacewalk, a 7-kg tool is left 54 m from the center of gravity of a 21-metric ton space station, orbiting along with it. How much closer to the space station will the tool drift in two hours due to the gravitational attraction of the space station?Homework Equations...
  29. F

    Extending Newton's Law to real life. No more ideal systems

    Extending Newton's Law to real life. No more "ideal systems"! Homework Statement Newton's Laws in reality, applying all forces 10 pts? A block of mass m is hung on a pulley that is at the end of a table. The pulley connects the hanging block m and another block M that is on the table. The...
  30. K

    Newton's Law of Cooling differential equation

    Homework Statement Newton's Law of Cooling states that the rate of cooling of an object is proportional to the temperature difference between the object and its surroundings. Suppose t is time, T is the temperature of the object, and Ts is the surrounding temperature. The following...
  31. A

    Is Newton's Law of Restitution Accurate for Eccentric Impacts?

    I have used Newton's law of restitution without problem in collisions between point objects but there seems to be a problem in its application in eccentric impacts. I have always thought it is applied to points on rigid extended bodies that come in contact during the collision for eccentric...
  32. S

    Newton's Law: Angled applied force and friction

    Homework Statement A boy is pushing a lawnmower (25kg) with 200N of force on a handle that is angled 35 below the horizontal. The mower is accelerating at 0.9m/s^2. If the boy would like to maintain a constant velocity, what force does he need to apply to the mower handle. Assume g = 9.8 [d]...
  33. H

    Newton's Law of Cooling, find room temperature

    Homework Statement Suppose that the temperature of a pan of warm water obeys Newton's law of cooling. The water (47 degrees Celsius) was put in a room and 10 minutes later the water's temperature was 40 degrees Celsius. After another 10 minutes, the temperature of the water was 34 degrees...
  34. B

    How Does Integrating Modified Newton's Law Lead to the Velocity Formula V(t)?

    Homework Statement Starting from the modified Newton's Law (dp(rel))/dt=F with a constant Force F, and assuming that the particle starts with v=0 at time t=0, show that the velocity at time t is given by V(t)=c [(Ft/mc)/(1+ Ft/mc)] Homework Equations The Attempt at a...
  35. B

    What is the Time of Death Based on Newton's Law of Cooling?

    Homework Statement A man was murdered and inspectors found his body temperature to be 88 degrees at 4:30AM. Climate control in the room was set to 76 degrees. Temperature of his body was taken again 2 hours later and found to be 85.8 degrees. The standard body temperature for human...
  36. O

    Another homework of Newton's law of motion

    Homework Statement A proud angler hangs her catch from a spring balance, which is supported from the roof of an elevator. a.) if the elevator has an upward acceleration of 2.45m/s2 and the balance reads 50.0N, what is the true weight of the fish? b.) Under what circumstances will the balance...
  37. R

    Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation

    Homework Statement I am doing a lab-"Kepler's Laws and Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation". There is an image representing various positions, at equal intervals, of a satelitte in an elliptical orbit around the earth. A list of planets and their radi and periods are given. I have calculated...
  38. D

    Qualitative query regarding Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation

    1. Take the equation F=[G(m1)(m2)]/r2 2. Assume a single mass of 20 (units don't matter), which will be divided in the following ways: 2.1. System 1: m1=20, m2=0 2.2. System 2: m1=19, m2=1 2.3. System 3: m1=18, m2=2 2.4. System 4: m1=17, m2=3 . . . 2.11.System 11: m1=10, m2=10 Now... 3...
  39. R

    Is My Interpretation of the Left Ventricle Blood Acceleration Problem Correct?

    Homework Statement The lower chamber of the heart, (the left ventricle) pumps blood into aorta. The left ventricular contraction lasts 0.20 seconds, during which time a mass of 88 grams of blood is accelerated from rest to a speed of about 4.5 m/s. Find the acceleration & Force. known: V...
  40. F

    Newton's Law of Cooling and ambient temperature

    I'm somewhat familiar with the formula: T(t)=T_{0}+(T_{i}-T_{0})e^{kt} However, what if the ambient temperature is not constant? How would one find the temperature of an object with an ambient temperature that ramps from A to B (steady ramp let's say)? I'm honestly not sure how to...
  41. L

    Understanding Newton's Third Law and the Net Force on Objects

    Newton's third law says that for every action force there's a simultaneous reaction force equal in magnitude to the action force, but in the opposite direction. So doesn't that make the net force zero? If that's true how does anything move?
  42. P

    How Does a Graph Demonstrate Newton's Law of Cooling?

    Hi, I have a graph of T-TR vs. Time. These values were given to us for an assignment. However, the question then says using these values, "show" that it obeys Newton's Law of Cooling. I can't ask my teacher because it's meant to be done on your own but show means many things to me. Does...
  43. A

    Why do Newton's laws of motion only work in inertial frames?

    why the Newton's law of motion are only valid in inertial frame of reference, not in non-inertial frame? since force like Coriolis force are not considered for these laws.
  44. S

    Does Newton's law of gravitation explain this?

    Being possibly the newest member here, I would like to put a question that has troubled my mind for quite a while.. If I have a uniform ring (having a certain mass) and a point mass in some idealised gravity free space & I orient them such that the point mass lies exactly at center of the...
  45. J

    Newton's Law Problem, involves n-t frame or r-t frame

    After picking up passengers, a train accelerates uniformly until its speed is 100 km/hr at t= 300 s. If during this time it is traveling on a planar path that approximates the circle and line shown in the figure, find the magnitude of the train's acceleration when (a) t = 1 min and (b) t = 2...
  46. L

    Deriving Newton's Law of Gravitation

    Given Kepler's Laws how do you derive Newton's Law of Gravitation?
  47. G

    Question on Newton's law of motion

    Homework Statement A train consists of three coaches A,B and C linked together via tow bars. A and C are coaches with engines and have a mass of 10000kg each, while B is an un-powered coach having a mass of 8000kg. The driving force of the engines in A and C are 20000N and 18000N respectively...
  48. B

    Newton's Law of Cooling (diff eq. - seperation of variables)

    Newton's Law of Cooling (diff eq. -- separation of variables) Homework Statement Fresh coffee sitting in a room cooling...you know the routine. Anyhow T(0) = 90degreesCelcius. Room temp=25degrees Celcius find k. Then he asks us to use Euler's method to estimate coffee temp after five...
  49. C

    How Does Altitude Affect Gravitational Force on an Astronaut Orbiting the Moon?

    An astronaut weighs 99.3 N on the surface of the moon. If the same astronaut orbits the moon at an altitude equal to the moons radius, what gravitational force (in N) does the moon exert on him at this altitude? can anybody get me going in the right direction? thanks
  50. C

    How Does Earth's Gravity Affect a Meteor at 3.61 Times Its Radius?

    When a falling meteor is at a distance above the earth’s surface of 3.61 times the Earth's radius, what is the acceleration of the Earth's gravity in m/s2? (Use the average radius of the Earth in your calculations) can somebody walk me through this one? thanks
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