PHY 311

CLASSICAL MECHANICS
& RELATIVITY

Miss D.D. Muhuyupe

 UNIT 2:
NEWTONIAN
MECHANICS
 NEWTONIAN MECHANICS

Newton’s Axiom
1. The law of inertia
2. The fundamental equation of dynamics
3. The interaction law
Premises of Newtonian mechanics are :

1. The absolute time

2. The absolute space
3. The mass being independent of the velocity
4. The mass of a closed system of bodies is independent
of the processes going on in this system.
 Axiom 1: The law of inertia
Each body remains in its state of rest or uniform rectilinear
motion as long as it is not forced by an acting force to
change this state.
Axiom 2: The fundamental equation of dynamics
The change of motion is proportional to the effect of the
driving force and tends toward the direction of that straight
line along which the force is acting.

Axiom 3: The interaction law

The action always equals the reaction, or the action of two
bodies onto each other are always equal magnitude and of
opposite direction.
Basics Concepts of Mechanics
Basic Concept of Mechanics
1. Inertial Systems
2. Measurements of masses
3. Work
4. Kinetic Energy
5. Conservation Forces
6. Potential
7. Energy law
8. Equivalence of impulse of forces and momentum
changes.
9. Angular momentum and torque
10. Conservation law of angular momentum
11. Law of conservation of linear momentum
1. Inertal systems

Inertial Systems are frame of references in which a

body remains at rest or moves with constant velocity
unless acted upon by forces.

2. Measurements of masses

Masses are measured by comparison with an arbitrarily

defined unit mass. If there are three distinct masses 𝑚1 ,
𝑚2 , and 𝑚3 , with 𝑚1 representing the unit mass, one
may determine experimentally,
3. Work

A force F cause a displacement of a mass point M by an

infinitesimally small path element 𝑑r and thereby
performs the work 𝑑𝑊 that is defined as follows:

𝑑𝑊 = 𝐅 ∙ 𝑑𝐫 = |𝐅||𝑑𝐫|cos(𝐅, 𝑑𝐫)

gcm2
Unit: = 1 erg or :
s2
kgm2
= 1Nm ⇒ 1 erg = 10−7 Nm
s2
Power is work performed per unit time.

𝑑𝑊 𝑑𝐫
=𝐅∙ = (𝐅 ∙ 𝐯)
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝐭

Unit: Nm/s
Work… further Read

Work : is the measure of transfer of energy.

1. 𝑊 = 𝐹 ∙ 𝑑𝑟
2. 𝑊 = 𝐹 ∙ 𝑣 𝑑𝑡
3. 𝑊 = Δ𝐸 = 𝐾𝐸 + 𝑃𝐸

W > 0 = gaining energy

W < 0 = losing energy

o If 𝐹 ⊥ 𝑟 then 𝐹 ∙ 𝑑𝑟 = 0 hence W = 0
4. Kinetic Energy

In order to accelerate a mass point and to bring it to a

definite velocity, work must be performed. This work is
then stored in the mass point in the form of kinetic
energy.

1
𝑇= 𝑚𝑣 2 = kinetic energy
2
5. Conservation of forces

A force is called conservation if the force field F may be

represent by
𝐅 = −grad 𝑉 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧

(ie, force is the negative gradient of potential )

CONSERVATION OF FORCES…. Further Reads

Definition :
A conservative force is a force done in moving a
particle from one point to another, such that the force is
independent of the path taken by the particle. It depends
only on the initial and final position of the particle.
Gravitational force and elastic spring forces are two
such examples of conservation forces.

https://byjus.com/physics/conservative-force/
Properties of Conservative Forces

If a force has the following properties, then it is

said to be a conservative force.

• When the force only dependent on the initial

and final position irrespective of the path taken.
• In any closed path, the work done by a
conservative force is zero.
• The work done by a conservative is reversible.
What is Non-Conservative force?
A non-conservative force is a force for which the
work done depends on the path taken. Friction is
an example of a non-conservative force. A force is
said to be a non-conservative force if it results in
the change of mechanical energy, which is nothing
but the sum of potential and kinetic energy. The
work done by a non-conservative force adds or
removes mechanical energy.

For example, when work is done by friction,

thermal energy is dissipated. The energy lost
cannot be fully recovered.
Properties of Non-Conservative Forces

It has the opposite properties of conservative

forces. The properties are given below:
• It is path dependent therefore it also depends
on the initial and final velocity.
• In any closed path, the total work done by a
non-conservative force is not zero.
• The work done by a non-conservative is
irreversible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7DAqKuSCsk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFVCluvSrFc
6. Potential

Potential energy is the energy that is stored in an

object due to its position relative to some zero
position.

For F 𝐫 = −𝛻𝑉 𝐫 , the scalar quantity 𝑉 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧 is

called potential energy/scalar potential/potential
7. Energy conservation law

E2 = E1
1
since 𝐸 = 𝑇 + 𝑉 = 𝑚𝑣 2 + 𝑉
2
1 2 1
=2 𝑚𝑣2 + 𝑉2 = 𝑚𝑣12 + 𝑉1
2
 8. Equivalence of Impulse of forces and momentum
changes.

If a mass point is affected by a force over a time interval

t = 𝑡2 − 𝑡1 , the time integral over this force is called

impulse of force:
t2
𝑡
𝐹 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = impulse of force
1
Impulse of force = Δmomentum /momentum difference.

ie
𝑡2 𝑡2 𝑑 𝑡2
𝑡1
𝐅 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑡1 𝑑𝑡
(𝑚v) 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑡1
𝑑(𝑚v)

= 𝑚v2 𝑚v1 = 𝐩𝟐 − 𝐩𝟏
9. Angular momentum and torque
Angular momentum and torque are always
defined with respect to a fixed point, the
pivot. If r is the vector from this point to the
mass point, then the angular momentum is
given by
L = r×p.

Where
L is the axial vector.
r is the position vector of the mass point.
p is the linear momentum
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Torque_animation.gif
The moment of the force (ie a force that cause rotation)
is called torque.
D=r×F

Conservation law of angular momentum

L = constant , because D = 0.

Law of conservation of the linear momentum

mv = p = constant
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Torque_animation.gif
Conservation of orientation
Conservation of L = 𝐫 × 𝐩 means that the plane spanned by r
and p remains fixed in spatial orientation; hence the motion
proceeds in a plane.

Conservation of the magnitude of the angular momentum is

often denoted as law of areas. The area covered by the “radius
vector” r during the time element dt is
1 1
𝑑𝐹 = 𝐫 × 𝑑𝐫 = |𝐫 × 𝐯 | 𝑑𝑡 .
2 2
with L = r × p = r × mv = m(r × v), it holds that

1 𝑑𝐹 1
dF = 𝐋 𝑑𝑡 or = |L|,
2𝑚 𝑑𝑡 2𝑚

where 𝑑𝐹/𝑑𝑡 is the area velocity of the radius vector (area

covered per unit time).