INTRODUCTION

Isaac Newton (1643–1727), is the physicist who formulated the laws.

Newton’s laws are applied to objects which are idealised as single point masses, in
the sense that the size and shape of the object’s body are neglected to focus on its
motion more easily. This can be done when the object is small compared to the
distances involved in its analysis, or the deformation and rotation of the body are
of no importance. In this way, even a planet can be idealised as a particle for
analysis of its orbital motion around a star.

In their original form, Newton’s laws of motion are not adequate to characterise
the motion of rigid bodies and deformable bodies. Leonhard Euler in 1750
introduced a generalisation of Newton’s laws of motion for rigid bodies
called Euler’s laws of motion, later applied as well for deformable bodies assumed
as a continuum. If a body is represented as an assemblage of discrete particles,
each governed by Newton’s laws of motion, then Euler’s laws can be derived from
Newton’s laws. Euler’s laws can, however, be taken as axioms describing the laws
of motion for extended bodies, independently of any particle structure.

Newton’s laws hold only with respect to a certain set of frames of

reference called Newtonian or inertial reference frames. Some authors interpret the
first law as defining what an inertial reference frame is; from this point of view, the
second law holds only when the observation is made from an inertial reference
frame, and therefore the first law cannot be proved as a special case of the second.
Other authors do treat the first law as a corollary of the second The explicit concept
of an inertial frame of reference was not developed until long after Newton’s
death.

In the given interpretation mass, acceleration, momentum, and (most

importantly) force are assumed to be externally defined quantities. This is the most
common, but not the only interpretation of the way one can consider the laws to be
a definition of these quantities.

Newtonian mechanics has been superseded by special relativity, but it is still useful
as an approximation when the speeds involved are much slower than the speed of
light
Each law of motion Newton developed has significant mathematical and physical
interpretations that are needed to understand motion in our universe. The
applications of these laws of motion are truly limitless.

Essentially, Newton's laws define the means by which motion changes, specifically
the way in which those changes in motion are related to force and mass.

Origins and Purpose of Newton's Laws of Motion

Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) was a British physicist who, in many respects, can
be viewed as the greatest physicist of all time. Though there were some
predecessors of note, such as Archimedes, Copernicus, and Galileo, it was Newton
who truly exemplified the method of scientific inquiry that would be adopted
throughout the ages.

For nearly a century, Aristotle's description of the physical universe had proven to
be inadequate to describe the nature of movement (or the movement of nature, if
you will). Newton tackled the problem and came up with three general rules about
the movement of objects which have been dubbed as "Newton's three laws of
motion."

In 1687, Newton introduced the three laws in his book "Philosophiae Naturalis
Principia Mathematica" (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), which is
generally referred to as the "Principia." This is where he also introduced his theory
of universal gravitation, thus laying the entire foundation of classical mechanics in
one volume.
NEWTON'S THREE LAWS OF MOTION
• Newton's First Law of Motion states that in order for the motion of an object
to change, a force must act upon it. This is a concept generally called inertia.
• Newton's Second Law of Motion defines the relationship between
acceleration, force, and mass.
• Newton's Third Law of Motion states that any time a force acts from one
object to another, there is an equal force acting back on the original object. If
you pull on a rope, therefore, the rope is pulling back on you as well.

Working With Newton's Laws of Motion

• Free body diagrams are the means by which you can track the different
forces acting on an object and, therefore, determine the final acceleration.
• Vector mathematics is used to keep track of the directions and magnitudes of
the forces and accelerations involved.
• Variable equations are used in complex physics problems
NEWTON'S FIRST LAW OF MOTION
Every body continues in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a straight line,
unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed upon it.
- Newton's First Law of Motion, translated from the "Principia"

This is sometimes called the Law of Inertia, or just inertia. Essentially, it makes the
following two points:

• An object that is not moving will not move until a force acts upon it.
• An object that is in motion will not change velocity (or stop) until a force
acts upon it.

The first point seems relatively obvious to most people, but the second may take
some thinking through. Everyone knows that things don't keep moving forever. If I
slide a hockey puck along a table, it slows and eventually comes to a stop. But
according to Newton's laws, this is because a force is acting on the hockey puck
and, sure enough, there is a frictional force between the table and the puck. That
frictional force is in the direction that is opposite the movement of the puck. It's
this force which causes the object to slow to a stop. In the absence (or virtual
absence) of such a force, as on an air hockey table or ice rink, the puck's motion
isn't as hindered.

Here is another way of stating Newton's First Law:

A body that is acted on by no net force moves at a constant velocity (which may be
zero) and zero acceleration.

So with no net force, the object just keeps doing what it is doing. It is important to
note the words net force. This means the total forces upon the object must add up
to zero. An object sitting on my floor has a gravitational force pulling it downward,
but there is also a normal force pushing upward from the floor, so the net force is
zero. Therefore, it doesn’t move.

To return to the hockey puck example, consider two people hitting the hockey
puck on exactly opposite sides at exactly the same time and with exactly identical
force. In this rare case, the puck would not move.

Since both velocity and force are vector quantities, the directions are important to
this process. If a force (such as gravity) acts downward on an object and there's no
upward force, the object will gain a vertical acceleration downward. The horizontal
velocity will not change, however.

If I throw a ball off my balcony at a horizontal speed of 3 meters per second, it will
hit the ground with a horizontal speed of 3 m/s (ignoring the force of air
resistance), even though gravity exerted a force (and therefore acceleration) in the
vertical direction. If it weren't for gravity, the ball would have kept going in a
straight line...at least, until it hit my neighbor's house

The first law states that if the net force (the vector sum of all forces acting on an
object) is zero, then the velocity of the object is constant. Velocity is
a vector quantity which expresses both the object’s speed and the direction of its
motion; therefore, the statement that the object’s velocity is constant is a statement
that both its speed and the direction of its motion are constant.

The first law can be stated mathematically when the mass is a non-zero constant,
as,

Consequently,

• An object that is at rest will stay at rest unless a force acts upon it.
• An object that is in motion will not change its velocity unless a force acts
upon it.

This is known as uniform motion. An object continues to do whatever it happens to

be doing unless a force is exerted upon it. If it is at rest, it continues in a state of
rest (demonstrated when a tablecloth is skilfully whipped from under dishes on a
tabletop and the dishes remain in their initial state of rest). If an object is moving, it
continues to move without turning or changing its speed. This is evident in space
probes that continuously move in outer space. Changes in motion must be imposed
against the tendency of an object to retain its state of motion. In the absence of net
forces, a moving object tends to move along a straight line path indefinitely.

Newton placed the first law of motion to establish frames of reference for which
the other laws are applicable. The first law of motion postulates the existence of at
least one frame of reference called a Newtonian or inertial reference frame, relative
to which the motion of a particle not subject to forces is a straight line at a constant
speed Newton’s first law is often referred to as the law of inertia. Thus, a condition
necessary for the uniform motion of a particle relative to an inertial reference
frame is that the total net force acting on it is zero.

Newton’s first and second laws are valid only in an inertial reference frame. Any
reference frame that is in uniform motion with respect to an inertial frame is also
an inertial frame, i.e. Galilean invariance or the principle of Newtonian relativity.
NEWTON'S SECOND LAW OF MOTION

The acceleration produced by a particular force acting on a body is directly

proportional to the magnitude of the force and inversely proportional to the mass of
the body.

The mathematical formulation of the second law is shown below,

with F representing the force, m representing the object's mass and a representing
the object's acceleration.

∑ F = ma

This formula is extremely useful in classical mechanics, as it provides a means of

translating directly between the acceleration and force acting upon a given mass. A
large portion of classical mechanics ultimately breaks down to applying this
formula in different contexts.

The sigma symbol to the left of the force indicates that it is the net force, or the
sum of all the forces. As vector quantities, the direction of the net force will also be
in the same direction as the acceleration. You can also break the equation down
into x and y (and even z) coordinates, which can make many elaborate problems
more manageable, especially if you orient your coordinate system properly.

You'll note that when the net forces on an object sum up to zero, we achieve the
state defined in Newton's First Law: the net acceleration must be zero. We know
this because all objects have mass (in classical mechanics, at least). If the object is
already moving, it will continue to move at a constant velocity, but that velocity
will not change until a net force is introduced. Obviously, an object at rest will not
move at all without a net force.

Impulse

An impulse J occurs when a force F acts over an interval of time Δt, and it is given
by

This relation between impulse and momentum is closer to Newton’s wording of

the second law.
The Second Law in Action

A box with a mass of 40 kg sits at rest on a frictionless tile floor. With your foot,
you apply a 20 N force in a horizontal direction. What is the acceleration of the
box?

The object is at rest, so there is no net force except for the force your foot is
applying. Friction is eliminated. Also, there's only one direction of force to worry
about. So this problem is very straightforward.

You begin the problem by defining your coordinate system. The mathematics is
similarly straightforward:

F= m* a

F/m=a

20 N / 40 kg = a = 0.5 m / s2

The problems based on this law are literally endless, using the formula to
determine any of the three values when you are given the other two. As systems
become more complex, you will learn to apply frictional forces,
gravity, electromagnetic forces, and other applicable forces to the same basic
formulas.
NEWTON'S THIRD LAW OF MOTION

To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction; or, the mutual actions of
two bodies upon each other are always equal, and directed to contrary parts.

We represent the Third Law by looking at two bodies, A and B, that are
interacting. We define FA as the force applied to body A by body B, and FA as the
force applied to body B by body A. These forces will be equal in magnitude and
opposite in direction. In mathematical terms, it is expressed as:

FB = - FA

or

FA + FB = 0

This is not the same thing as having a net force of zero, however. If you apply a
force to an empty shoebox sitting on a table, the shoebox applies an equal force
back on you. This doesn't sound right at first — you're obviously pushing on the
box, and it is obviously not pushing on you. Remember that according to the
Second Law, force and acceleration are related but they aren't identical!

Because your mass is much larger than the mass of the shoebox, the force you
exert causes it to accelerate away from you. The force it exerts on you wouldn't
cause much acceleration at all.

Not only that, but while it's pushing on the tip of your finger, your finger, in turn,
pushes back into your body, and the rest of your body pushes back against the
finger, and your body pushes on the chair or floor (or both), all of which keeps
your body from moving and allows you to keep your finger moving to continue the
force. There's nothing pushing back on the shoebox to stop it from moving.

If, however, the shoebox is sitting next to a wall and you push it toward the wall,
the shoebox will push on the wall and the wall will push back. The shoebox will, at
this point, stop moving. You can try to push it harder, but the box will break before
it goes through the wall because it isn't strong enough to handle that much force
NEWTON'S LAWS IN ACTION
Most people have played tug of war at some point. A person or group of people
grab the ends of a rope and try to pull against the person or group at the other end,
usually past some marker (sometimes into a mud pit in really fun versions), thus
proving that one of the groups is stronger than the other. All three of Newton's
Laws can be seen in a tug of war.

There frequently comes a point in a tug of war when neither side is moving. Both
sides are pulling with the same force. Therefore, the rope does not accelerate in
either direction. This is a classic example of Newton's First Law.

Once a net force is applied, such as when one group begins pulling a bit harder
than the other, an acceleration begins. This follows the Second Law. The group
losing ground must then try to exert more force. When the net force begins going
in their direction, the acceleration is in their direction. The movement of the rope
slows down until it stops and, if they maintain a higher net force, it begins moving
back in their direction.

The Third Law is less visible, but it's still present. When you pull on the rope, you
can feel that the rope is also pulling on you, trying to move you toward the other
end. You plant your feet firmly in the ground, and the ground actually pushes back
on you, helping you to resist the pull of the rope.

Next time you play or watch a game of tug of war — or any sport, for that matter
— think about all the forces and accelerations at work. It's truly impressive to
realize that you can understand the physical laws that are in action during your
favorite sport.
Newton’s laws were verified by experiment and observation for over 200 years,
and they are excellent approximations at the scales and speeds of everyday life.
Newton’s laws of motion, together with his law of universal gravitation and the
mathematical techniques of calculus, provided for the first time a unified
quantitative explanation for a wide range of physical phenomena.

These three laws hold to a good approximation for macroscopic objects under
everyday conditions. However, Newton’s laws (combined with universal
gravitation and classical electrodynamics) are inappropriate for use in certain
circumstances, most notably at very small scales, very high speeds (in special
relativity, the Lorentz factor must be included in the expression for momentum
along with the rest mass and velocity) or very strong gravitational fields.
Therefore, the laws cannot be used to explain phenomena such as conduction of
electricity in a semiconductor, optical properties of substances, errors in non-
relativistically corrected GPS systems and superconductivity. Explanation of these
phenomena requires more sophisticated physical theories, including general
relativity and quantum field theory.

In quantum mechanics, concepts such as force, momentum, and position are

defined by linear operators that operate on the quantum state; at speeds that are
much lower than the speed of light, Newton’s laws are just as exact for these
operators as they are for classical objects. At speeds comparable to the speed of
light, the second law holds in the original form F = dp/dt, where F and p are four-
vectors.
RELATIONSHIP TO THE CONSERVATION LAWS

In modern physics, the laws of conservation of momentum, energy, and angular

momentum are of more general validity than Newton’s laws, since they apply to
both light and matter, and to both classical and non-classical physics.

This can be stated simply, “Momentum, energy and angular momentum cannot be
created or destroyed.”

Because force is the time derivative of momentum, the concept of force is

redundant and subordinate to the conservation of momentum, and is not used in
fundamental theories (e.g., quantum mechanics, quantum electrodynamics, general
relativity, etc.). The standard model explains in detail how the three fundamental
forces known as gauge forcesoriginate out of exchange by virtual particles. Other
forces, such as gravity and fermionic degeneracy pressure, also arise from the
momentum conservation. Indeed, the conservation of 4-momentum in inertial
motion via curved space-time results in what we call gravitational force in general
relativity theory. The application of the space derivative (which is a momentum
operator in quantum mechanics) to the overlapping wave functions of a pair
of fermions (particles with half-integer spin) results in shifts of maxima of
compound wavefunction away from each other, which is observable as the
“repulsion” of the fermions.

Newton stated the third law within a world-view that assumed instantaneous action
at a distance between material particles. However, he was prepared for
philosophical criticism of this action at a distance, and it was in this context that he
stated the famous phrase “I feign no hypotheses“. In modern physics, action at a
distance has been completely eliminated, except for subtle effects
involving quantum entanglement. (In particular, this refers to Bell’s theorem – that
no local model can reproduce the predictions of Quantum Theory.) Despite only
being an approximation, in modern engineering and all practical applications
involving the motion of vehicles and satellites, the concept of action at a distance is
used extensively.

The discovery of the second law of thermodynamics by Carnot in the 19th century
showed that not every physical quantity is conserved over time, thus disproving the
validity of inducing the opposite metaphysical view from Newton’s laws. Hence, a
“steady-state” worldview based solely on Newton’s laws and the conservation laws
does not take entropy into account.
SUMMARY
• Dynamics is the branch of physics in which we study the motion of a body by
taking into consideration the cause i.e., force which produces the motion.

• Force
Force is an external cause in the form of push or pull, which produces or tries to
produce motion in a body at rest, or stops/tries to stop a moving body or
changes/tries to change the direction of motion of the body.

• The inherent property, with which a body resists any change in its state of motion
is called inertia. Heavier the body, the inertia is more and lighter the body, lesser
the inertia.

• Law of inertia states that a body has the inability to change its state of rest or
uniform motion (i.e., a motion with constant velocity) or direction of motion by
itself.

• Newton’s Laws of Motion

Law 1. A body will remain at rest or continue to move with uniform velocity
unless an external force is applied to it.
First law of motion is also referred to as the ‘Law of inertia’. It defines inertia,
force and inertial frame of reference.
I here is always a need of ‘frame of reference’ to describe and understand the
motion of particle, lhc simplest ‘frame of reference’ used are known as the inertial
frames.

A frame of referent, e is known as an inertial frame it, within it, all accelerations of
any particle are caused by the action of ‘real forces’ on that particle.
When we talk about accelerations produced by ‘fictitious’ or ‘pseudo’ forces, the
frame of reference is a non-inertial one.
Law 2. When an external force is applied to a body of constant mass the force
produces an acceleration, which is directly proportional to the force and inversely
proportional to the mass of the body.
 Law 3. “To every action there is equal and opposite reaction force”. When a body
A exerts a force on another body B, B exerts an equal and opposite force on A.
• Linear Momentum
The linear momentum of a body is defined as the product of the mass of the body
and its velocity.
Impulse

Forces acting for short duration are called impulsive forces. Impulse is defined as
the product of force and the small time interval for which it acts. It is given by

Impulse of a force is a vector quantity and its SI unit is 1 Nm.

— If force of an impulse is changing with time, then the impulse is measured by
finding the area bound by force-time graph for that force.
— Impulse of a force for a given time is equal to the total change in momentum of
the body during the given time. Thus, we have

• Law of Conservation of Momentum

The total momentum of an isolated system of particles is conserved.
In other words, when no external force is applied to the system, its total
momentum remains constant.

• Recoiling of a gun, flight of rockets and jet planes are some simple applications
of the law of conservation of linear momentum.
Concurrent Forces and Equilibrium
“A group of forces which are acting at one point are called concurrent forces.”
Concurrent forces are said to be in equilibrium if there is no change in the position
of rest or the state of uniform motion of the body on which these concurrent forces
are acting.
For concurrent forces to be in equilibrium, their resultant force must be zero. In
case of three concurrent forces acting in a plane, the body will be in equilibrium if
these three forces may be completely represented by three sides of a triangle taken
in order. If number of concurrent forces is more than three, then these forces must
be represented by sides of a closed polygon in order for equilibrium.
• Friction
The opposition to any relative motion between two surfaces in contact is referred
to as friction. It arises because of the ‘inter meshing’ of the surface irregularities of
the two surfaces in contact.