Newtons Three Laws

For a couple centuries before Einstein, Newtons Laws were the basic principles of Physics. These laws are still valid and they are the basis for much engineering analysis today. Formal statements of Newtons Three Laws are given below. Informal explanations of Newtons Three Laws are given below each formal statement. Newtons First Law: An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced external force. Inertia is a property of matter that resists changes in motion. If a mass is not moving, it will stay that way until an unbalanced external force starts to move it; if a mass is in motion, it will stay in motion with the same speed and direction until an unbalanced external force changes its motion characteristics (friction could slow it down, or a force could accelerate its motion). For example, let us consider a hockey puck on the ice (assume the ice is perfectly level and frictionless). If the puck is placed down on the ice, it will stay motionless until someone hits it with a stick or skate because of its inertia. Also due to inertia, when slapped, the puck will tend to move in a straight line with constant speed until an external force (such as another player, or the goalie, or the net) changes its motion. As a second example of Newtons First Law, consider a car accelerating from a stoplight. As the car accelerates from zero motion, your body tends to push back into the seat due to its inertia (trying to remain at rest). Also, as the car is braked from a high speed back to stopping, your body is flung forward due to its inertia in motion. Hopefully you have your seatbelt on, or else Newtons First Law could have bad consequences. Newtons Second Law: The acceleration a of an object as produced by a net force F is directly proportional to the magnitude of the net force, in the same direction as the net force, and inversely proportional to the mass m of the object: F = ma. A resultant external force F acting on a body will accelerate that body in the direction of F, with acceleration a = F/m. Acceleration is the second time rate of change of position, also the first time rate of change of velocity; acceleration is to velocity what velocity is to position. Newtons original statement of the Second Law was that the resultant external force F is equal to the time rate of change of momentum (mv, mass times velocity): F= d (mv ) dt

If the mass is constant, this relationship becomes the familiar form of Newtons Second Law: F =m dv = ma dt

Before Newton developed his Second Law, the prevailing belief was that force was proportional to velocity: F = mv. This appeared to be true for the motion of horse-drawn carts, since friction dominates this problem. Newton revolutionized engineering mechanics; his laws were unchallenged until Einsteins Relativity work. Newtons Laws are still the basis for most engineering dynamics today.

Newtons Third Law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This law is familiar in everyday situations; a force cannot be applied to an object unless something resists the reaction of that force. In order to walk across the floor, you must push back on the floor with your foot; then, according to Newtons Third Law, the floor pushes forward on your foot, which propels you forward. This, of course, requires friction to work. If a free-floating astronaut were to throw a baseball, there is nothing to resist the throwing force, so as the baseball accelerates in the direction of throwing, the astronaut would accelerate backwards, with a force equal and opposite to the throwing force. The astronaut would accelerate at a much smaller level (by Newtons Second Law) since her mass is much greater than the baseballs mass. The recoil of a gun during firing is another example of Newtons Third Law. As a final example, if a person attempts to jump to a dock from a small sailboat, they may end up landing in water if they do not understand Newtons Third Law: similar to the astronaut example, the jumping force of the human on the boat will tend to push the boat backwards; the equal and opposite force of the boat on the human will propel that person toward the dock, but since the boat moves backwards, the person may end up wet. The same problem exists for large sailboats, except with larger boat inertia, it is less noticeable.

Newtons 1st Law Example: Block on frictionless surface

To demonstrate in software Newtons First Law (the law of inertia) we consider a point-mass block free to slide on a frictionless, perfectly flat XY plane. Gravity is normal to this plane, in the Z direction, and hence gravity does not enter into this problem due to our frictionless surface assumption (except for the fact that gravity keeps the block in the XY plane). When the block is placed at rest on the plane with no net unbalanced external force, it will remain at rest due to the blocks property of inertia. The user can then start motion by pushing on the block with the haptic interface try single X or Y directions first, but both can occur at once. The user feels the inertia, which is the blocks resistance to change in motion. Once the block is in motion, if the force is removed, it will tend to remain in motion at the velocity (speed and direction) obtained when the force stopped. A reverse force is required to return the block to rest. The user feels the blocks inertia in motion, again resisting change in motion. With the frictionless assumption, it is not easy to return the moving block to rest with the joystick. For the simulated motion when a force is applied, we use Newtons 2nd Law F = ma to solve for the resulting acceleration. The free-body diagram (FBD) is simple in this case, shown for one direction X below: x

Fx

N The resulting acceleration is simply ax = Fx/m, while the force is applied (for Y motion, ay = Fy/m). We can use kinematics to determine the resulting motion; we start with the known, constant acceleration and integrate twice (the constants of integration are zero if we start from rest and measure the x displacement from the initial position). The left expressions are for the motion when the force is applied; the right expressions are for the constant velocity motion phase when the force has been removed. The below expressions are for X motion, but apply equally (independently but simultaneously) to Y motion. a x (t ) = x(t ) = Fx m a x (t ) = 0

v x (t ) = a xt

v x (t ) = vC

a xt 2

x(t ) = x0 + vC t

In the right expressions above, vC is the constant velocity achieved at the instant the force is removed: vC (t ) = a x t MAX , where tMAX is the time when the force is removed. Also, x0 is the displacement achieved in the first motion phase, x0 = a x t MAX . 2
2

Inertial force is defined to be F0 x = ma x in the X direction (similar for Y). Here force is in quotes since it has units of force, N, but it is not a true force, rather an effect of acceleration that can be felt. Inertial force gives the user the feel of the masss inertia during the simulation.

User inputs:

Forces Fx and Fy via the haptic interface (directions commanded by user, magnitudes all assumed to be 10 N). m = 10 kg point mass in motion, plus kinematics plots for ax, vx, x; also ay, vy, y

Computer sets: Visualize:

Numerical Display: Nothing. User Feels: Block inertial forces F0 x = ma x in X and F0 y = ma y in Y; feels nothing during constant velocity motions.

Example:

When the user pushes with Fx = 10 N and Fy = 0 for three seconds (tMAX = 3 sec), followed by Fx = Fy = 0 for three more seconds, the numerical results are: First motion phase: ax = 1 m/s2 Second motion phase: vC = 3 m/s, x0 = 4.5 m

The associated kinematics plots vs. time are shown below:

10

x
5 0 0 2 0 0 1 0.5 0 0 1 2 3 time 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6

Kinematics Plots for motion in the X direction, Newtons First Law Simulation In the first three seconds when the constant force is applied to the block, the resulting constant acceleration (from Newtons Second Law) is ax = 1 m/s2; in this motion range, the block velocity increases linearly and the blocks position increases parabolically. In the remaining three seconds of motion, the constant force has been removed so there is a constant velocity (vC = 3 m/s, the maximum value from the first three seconds) according to Newtons Second Law. In the constant velocity motion range, acceleration is zero, and position x linearly increases from its previous ending value of x0 = 4.5 m. You can see that the x position changes by 3 m every 1 sec, which is the constant velocity of 3 m/s.

Newtons 2nd Law Example: Two-mass acceleration

In this software simulation, two masses are connected by an ideal cable (massless, perfectly stiff) as shown in the diagram. For this point-mass problem, we ignore the pulley rotational inertia. The system is released from rest and we wish to calculate the resulting system motion using Newtons 2nd Law. The dynamic coefficient of friction between m1 and the motion surface is . The free-body diagrams, one for each point mass, are shown following the system diagram.

x Y X m1 y m2

W1

T m2

m1 Ff N
For each free-body diagram, we apply Newtons 2nd Law,

W2

F i = mAi .

For mass 1, this vector

equation yields one equation in the X and one in the Y direction; for mass 2, only one equation, in the Y direction, results: X : T F f = m1a1x Y : N W1 = m1a1y Y : W2 T = m2 a2 y

The same cable tension T is applied to each mass, by Newtons 3rd Law (since we are not considering pulley dynamics). The friction force is F f = N , opposing the direction of motion; N is the normal force of the motion surface acting on mass 1. acceleration vectors are: a1x a A1 = = a1 y 0 The weight forces are Wi = mi g , i=1,2. The

a2 x 0 A2 = = a2 y a

That is, mass 1 does not accelerate in the Y direction and mass 2 does not accelerate in the X direction; also, since the point masses are connected by an ideal cable, their accelerations are the same: a1x = a2 y = a . Using this information, the above three dynamics equations of motion become: T N = m1a N m1 g = 0 m2 g T = m2 a

Substituting the Y equation ( N = m1 g ) into the X equation for mass 1 yields: T = (a + g )m1 . Further substituting this cable tension for T in the Y equation for mass 2, we can solve for the system acceleration a: (m m1 )g a= 2 m1 + m2 Having solved for the acceleration using Newtons 2nd Law, we can use kinematics to determine the resulting motion; we start with the known, constant acceleration and integrate twice (the right expressions assume zero initial conditions since the system was released from rest and we can measure the displacements from the initial locations): a1x (t ) = a v1x (t ) = v1x 0 + at x1 (t ) = x10 + v1 y 0t + at
2

a1x (t ) = a

v1x (t ) = at x1 (t ) = at
2

The Y acceleration, velocity, and displacement expressions for mass 2 are identical, where the positive indicates downward motion here, starting from the initial displacement of zero. Note: If m1 m2 , the above equation for a predicts that the acceleration is zero (for =) or negative (for >). In this case there will be no motion since the combination of and m1 are too large for the given m2. 0 m1 10 User sets: masses m1 and m2, plus dynamic coefficient of friction : 0 m2 10 0 1

Computer sets: Visualize:

g = 9.81 m/s2, in the Y direction. point masses in motion, plus kinematics plots for a, v, x (same as y).

Numerical Display: a, T, Ff User Feels: Example: are: Inertial forces m1a or m2 a (user chooses), opposite to a direction. When the user enters m1 = 10 kg, m2 = 5 kg and = 0.15 , the numerical results a = 2.29 m/s2; T = 37.6 N; Ff = -14.7 N The associated kinematics plots vs. time are (this simulation was run for an X (and Y) displacement of 10 2x f m, with a final time of t f = = 20 = 2.96 sec): a 2.29

0 0 6 4

0.5

1.5

2.5

v
2 0 0 3 2.5 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5

a
2 1.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 tim e 2 2.5

Kinematics Plots for m1 in the X direction (identical to m2 in the Y direction) The resulting constant acceleration (from Newtons Second Law) is a = 2.29 m/s2; the block velocity increases linearly from zero and the blocks position increases parabolically. The same exact plots apply to Y motion, where the displacement is down, measured from the initial location of the second mass.

Comprehension Assignment: Once you get the feel for this simulation, run the program several times to collect and plot data: for a fixed value of the dynamic coefficient of friction , vary the mass ratio m1/m2 over its allowable range and determine the resulting acceleration a. Plot a vs. m1/m2. Repeat these plots for various values of over its allowable range. Discuss the trends you see do the results make sense physically?

Newtons 3rd Law Examples

There are two simulations in the software to demonstrate Newtons Third Law. The first one is simply a linear spring that may be compressed (or extended) via the haptic interface. The user then feels the equal and opposite force of the virtual spring pushing (or pulling) on the hand. A linear spring obeys Hookes law: F = Kx , where K is the spring constant (N/m) and x is the amount the spring is stretched from its neutral position. As the user moves the joystick to compress the virtual spring, the spring feels the force and moves accordingly. At the same time, a force pushes on the users hand, of the same magnitude, but reversed in direction. Thus, the force of the user acting on the spring is equal and opposite to the force of the spring acting on the user. This equal and opposite force exists whether the user compresses or extends the spring. Try it and you will see and feel the effects of Newtons Third Law. The second simulation involves a projectile fired from a cannon on the water in attempt to hit a target on land. There are two cannons; one is a rigid base, fixed to a dock whose pilings are sunk deep into bedrock under the water. The second is a cannon mounted to a free-floating boat. Both cannons have the same shooting angle and the same initial muzzle velocity, calculated to successfully hit the target from a fixed-based cannon. Try the first, fixed-based, cannon and you will see the target is hit. By Newtons Third Law, there will be an equal and opposite reaction force from the cannon back on its base. When the base is fixed, this reaction force will be resisted successfully, in this case by the fixed pilings. When you try the second, boat-mounted cannon you will see the cannon projectile falls short of the target. In this case, the equal and opposite reaction force from firing the cannon causes the boat to move away from the shore. Unless a new cannon angle and muzzle velocity is calculated for this case, the projectile will fall short of the target due to Newtons Third Law.