Download Newtonian mechanics

Chapter-5
Newtonian Mechanics
• The relation between a force and the acceleration it causes was first
understood by Isaac Newton (1642–1727) and is the subject of this
chapter.
• The study of that relation, as Newton presented it, is called Newtonian
mechanics. We shall focus on its three primary laws of motion.
• Newtonian mechanics does not apply to all situations. If the speeds of the
interacting bodies are very large—an appreciable fraction of the speed of
light—we must replace Newtonian mechanics with Einstein’s special
theory of relativity, which holds at any speed, including those near the
speed of light.
• If the interacting bodies are on the scale of atomic structure (for example,
they might be electrons in an atom), we must replace Newtonian
mechanics with quantum mechanics.
• Physicists now view Newtonian mechanics as a special case of these two
more comprehensive theories. Still, it is a very important special case
because it applies to the motion of objects ranging in size from the very
small (almost on the scale of atomic structure) to astronomical (galaxies
and clusters of galaxies).
Newton’s First Law
Object on a frictionless surface.
If no force acts on a body, the body’s velocity
cannot change; that is, the body cannot
accelerate.
In other words, if the body is at rest, it stays at
rest. If it is moving, it continues to move with
the same velocity (same magnitude and same
direction).
Force
The concept of force was tentatively defined as a push or pull
exerted on an object. We can define a force exerted on an object
quantitatively by measuring the acceleration it causes using the
following procedure.
We place an object of mass m = 1 kg on a frictionless surface and
measure the acceleration a that results from the application of a
force F. The force is adjusted so that a = 1 m/s2. We then say that F
= 1 newton (symbol: N).
Note: If several forces act on a body
(say FA , FB , and FC ) the net force Fnet
is defined as Fnet  FA  FB  FC ,
i.e., Fnet is the vector sum of
FA , FB , and FC .
Inertial Reference Frames:
We define a reference frame as “inertial” if Newton’s three laws of motion hold. In contrast,
reference frames in which Newton’s law are not obeyed are labeled “noninertial.”
Newton believed that at least one such inertial reference frame R exists. Any other inertial
frame R' that moves with constant velocity with respect to R is also an inertial reference
frame. In contrast, a reference frame R" that accelerates with respect to R is a noninertial
reference frame.
The Earth rotates about its axis once every 24 hours and thus it is
accelerating with respect to an inertial reference frame. Thus we
are making an approximation when we consider the Earth to be an
inertial reference frame. This approximation is excellent for most
small-scale phenomena.
Nevertheless, for large-scale phenomena such as global wind
systems, this is not the case and corrections to Newton’s laws
must be used.
(5-10)
Mass
Mass is an intrinsic characteristic of a body that automatically comes
with the existence of the body. But what is it exactly?
It turns out that the mass of a body is the characteristic that relates a
force F applied on the body and the resulting acceleration a.
Consider that we have a body of mass m0 = 1 kg on which we apply a force
F = 1 N. According to the definition of the newton , F causes an acceleration
a0 = 1 m/s2. We now apply F on a second body of unknown mass mX, which
results in an acceleration aX . The ratio of the accelerations is inversely
proportional to the ratio of the masses:
F
m0
a0
F
mX
aX
a0
mX a0

 mX  m0
m0 a X
aX
Thus by measuring aX we are able to determine the mass mX of any object.
Checkpoint 1
Which of the figure’s six arrangements correctly show
the vector addition of forces
and
to yield the
third vector,
which is meant to represent their net
force ?