Contact Forces

Applied Force – This is the easiest type of force to understand. Push on an object and the object
pushes back, says Newton's First Law, until the magnitude of the force overcomes the object's
inertia. At that point, the object begins moving and, in the absence of other forces, accelerates by
an amount proportionate to the magnitudes of its mass and the applied force.

Normal Force – Force is a vector quantity, which means its magnitude depends on direction. In
any interaction between two objects, the normal force is the force perpendicular to the interface
between the interacting objects. Normal force doesn't always produce movement. For example, a
table exerts a normal force on a book to overcome the force of gravity and keep the book from
falling.

Frictional Force – Frictional force usually resists movement. It's a result of the fact that surfaces
in the real world aren't perfectly smooth. The magnitude of the frictional force exerted by a
surface depends on the coefficient of friction of the material from which the surface is made as
well as that of the object moving along it. The force of friction on a resting object, called static
friction, is different from that on a moving object, called sliding friction.

Air Resistance – Objects moving through Earth's atmosphere encounter a resistive force created
by the friction generated by air molecules. This force becomes stronger with increasing speed
and increasing surface area perpendicular to the direction of motion. It's an important quantity in
the aviation and aerospace industries.

Tension Force – Tie a string to a fixed object, pull on the other end, and the string pulls back
until it breaks. The force the string exerts is the tension force, which is applied along its length.
It's a property of the material from which the string is made as well as the diameter.

Spring Force – The amount of force necessary to compress a spring depends on the material from
which the spring is made, the diameter of the wire that forms the coils, and the number of coils.
These properties are quantified in a number characteristic of the spring called the spring constant
"k." The force needed to compress the spring a distance "x" is given by Hooke's Law: F = kx.

Action at a Distance Forces

The fundamental forces of nature that keep the planets spinning and the sun and stars burning all
act at a distance. Without them, the universe we know probably would not exist or, if it did, it
would be a very different place.

Gravitational Force – The reason for the existence of this force is something of a mystery, but if
it didn't exist, planets and stars wouldn't be able to form. The magnitude of the gravitational
force objects exert on each other depends on the masses of the objects and the inverse of the
square of the distance between them. The more massive the objects or the shorter the distance
between them, the stronger the force.

Electromagnetic Force – Although they don't seem to be the same, electricity and magnetism are
related. Flowing electrons produce magnetism, and a moving magnet produces electricity. The
relationship between these phenomena was explained by Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell
in the 19th century and is quantified in his equations. Electricity exerts a force via the attraction
or repulsion of charged particles, whereas the magnetic force is due to the attraction or repulsion
caused by magnetic poles.

The Strong Force – Because all protons are positively charged, they repel one another, and they
wouldn't be able to form an atomic nucleus if the strong force didn't exist to hold them together.
The strong force is the most powerful force in nature. It's also the one that binds quarks together
to form protons and neutrons.

The Weak Force – The weak force is another fundamental nuclear force. It's stronger than
gravity, but it only works at infinitesimally short distances. Carried by subatomic bundles of
energy called bosons, the weak force causes protons to change into neutrons and vice versa
during nuclear decay. Without this force, nuclear fusion would be impossible, and stars, such as
the sun, wouldn't exist.

Effects of Force
force acting on an object causes the object to change its shape or size, to start moving, to stop
moving, to accelerate or decelerate. When there’s the interaction between two objects they exert
a force on each other, these exerted forces are equal in size but opposite in direction. When an
object has several forces acting on it, the effects of force is same as one force acting on the object
in a certain direction and this overall force is called the ‘resultant force’. The resultant force is
essential to change the velocity of an object.

 If the resultant force is zero the forces on the object are balanced.
 If the resultant force acting on the object is ‘zero’ then: the object will remain stationary.
In such a case the object will move at a steady speed in a straight line.
 If the resultant force acting on the object isn’t zero then: the object will either accelerate
or decelerate.

What is a force?
In physics, a force is any interaction that, when unopposed, will change the motion of an
object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (which includes to
begin moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. ... A force has both magnitude and
direction, making it a vector quantity.
The moment of a force or torque, r is defined as the turning effect of the force about
a pivot and is the product of the force (F) and the perpendicular distance (d) from the
line of action of the force to the pivot.

 SI unit of moment of a force is Newton-metre (Nm). It is a vector quantity.

 Its direction is given by the right-hand grip rule perpendicular to the plane of the
force and pivot point which is parallel to the axis of rotation.

r=F×dr=F×d
where:
r is the moment of force/torque
F is the force
d is the perpendicular distance from the line of action of the force to the pivot

Moment

The turning effect of a force is known as the moment. It is the product of the force multiplied by
the perpendicular distance from the line of action of the force to the pivot or point where the
object will turn.
When undoing a nut fastened to a screw by hand one realises that the amount of force required is
a lot greater than when undoing the same nut using a spanner. The spanner increases the distance
between the fulcrum and the line of action of the force, thus for the same force a greater moment
is obtained.

SMALL MOMENT LARGE MOMENT

The distance from the fulcrum to the line of The distance from the fulcrum to the line of
action of force is very small action of force is large

Principle of Moments

The principle of moments states that when in equilibrium the total sum of the anti clockwise
moment is equal to the total sum of the clockwise moment.

When a system is stable or balance it is said to be in equilibrium as all the forces acting on the
system cancel each other out.

In equilibrium
Total Anticlockwise Moment = Total Clockwise Moment

This principle can be explained by considering two people on a seesaw.

Moments Acting On A Seesaw

Both people exert a downward force on the seesaw due to their weights.

Person A’s weight is trying to turn the seesaw anticlockwise whilst person B’s weight is trying to
turn the seesaw clockwise.

Person A’s Moment = Force x perpendicular distance from fulcrum

1000 x 1 = 1000 Nm

Person B’s Moment = Force x perpendicular distance from fulcrum

500 x 2 = 1000 Nm
Persons A’s moment = Persons B’s Moment
Anticlockwise moment = Clockwise moment