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accelerate23
- 11
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I am kind of confused about this. What is the action and equal and opposite reaction?
sophiecentaur said:PS you don't need the ground to be there for the gases to 'push against'.
Action and reaction forces are a pair of forces that occur simultaneously between two objects in contact. These forces are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction, as described by Newton's third law of motion.
Action and reaction forces do not cancel each other out, as they act on different objects. However, they do result in a change in the motion of both objects, causing them to accelerate in opposite directions.
Yes, action and reaction forces can occur in non-contact situations. For example, the Earth exerts a gravitational force on objects, causing them to exert an equal and opposite reaction force on the Earth.
According to Newton's second law of motion, the net force acting on an object is equal to the rate of change of its momentum. As action and reaction forces result in changes in the momentum of both objects, they are closely related to the concept of momentum.
No, according to Newton's third law of motion, action and reaction forces are always equal in magnitude. However, the objects involved may have different masses, resulting in different accelerations.