Chapter 5

More Applications of
Newton’s Laws
Forces of Friction
 When an object is in motion on a
surface or through a viscous medium,
there will be a resistance to the motion
 This is due to the interactions between the
object and its environment
 This resistance is called the force of
friction
Forces of Friction, cont.
 The force of static friction, ƒs, is generally
greater than the force of kinetic friction, ƒ k
 The coefficient of friction (µ) depends on the
surfaces in contact
 Friction is proportional to the normal force
 ƒs  µs n and ƒk= µk n
 These equations relate the magnitudes of the
forces, they are not vector equations
Forces of Friction, final
 The direction of the frictional force is
opposite the direction of motion and
parallel to the surfaces in contact
 The coefficients of friction are nearly
independent of the area of contact
Static Friction
 Static friction acts to
keep the object from
moving
 If increases, so does
 If decreases, so does
 ƒs  µs n where the
equality holds when the
surfaces are on the
verge of slipping
 Called impending motion
Kinetic Friction
 The force of kinetic
friction acts when
the object is in
motion
 Although µk can vary
with speed, we shall
neglect any such
variations
 ƒk = µk n
Some Coefficients of Friction
Friction in Newton’s Laws
Problems
 Friction is a force, so it simply is
included in the F in Newton’s Laws
 The rules of friction allow you to
determine the direction and magnitude
of the force of friction
 Friction Example, 1
 The block is sliding down
the plane, so friction acts
up the plane
 This setup can be used to
experimentally determine
the coefficient of friction
 µ = tan 
 For µs, use the angle where
the block just slips
 For µk, use the angle where
the block slides down at a
constant speed
 Friction Example 2
 Image the ball moving
downward and the cube
sliding to the right
 Both are accelerating
from rest
 There is a friction force
between the cube and
the surface
 Friction Example 2, cont

 Two objects, so two

free body diagrams
are needed
 Apply Newton’s
Laws to both objects
 The tension is the
same for both
objects
 Uniform Circular Motion
 A force, , is directed
toward the center of the
circle
 This force is associated
with an acceleration, ac
 Applying Newton’s
Second Law along the
radial direction gives
 Uniform Circular Motion, cont
 A force causing a
centripetal acceleration acts
toward the center of the
circle
 It causes a change in the
direction of the velocity
vector
 If the force vanishes, the
object would move in a
straight-line path tangent to
the circle
Centripetal Force
 The force causing the centripetal
acceleration is sometimes called the
centripetal force
 This is not a new force, it is a new role
for a force
 It is a force acting in the role of a force
that causes a circular motion
 Conical Pendulum
 The object is in
equilibrium in the
vertical direction and
undergoes uniform
circular motion in the
horizontal direction

 v is independent of m
Horizontal (Flat) Curve
 The force of static
friction supplies the
centripetal force
 The maximum speed at
which the car can
negotiate the curve is

 Note, this does not

depend on the mass of
the car
 Banked Curve
 These are designed
with friction equaling
zero
 There is a component
of the normal force that
supplies the centripetal
force
 Loop-the-Loop
 This is an example
of a vertical circle
 At the bottom of the
loop (b), the upward
force experienced
by the object is
greater than its
weight
 Loop-the-Loop, Part 2
 At the top of the
circle (c), the force
exerted on the
object is less than
its weight
Non-Uniform Circular Motion
 The acceleration and
force have tangential
components
 produces the
centripetal acceleration
 produces the
tangential acceleration
 
 Vertical Circle with Non-
Uniform Speed
 The gravitational
force exerts a
tangential force on
the object
 Look at the
components of Fg
 The tension at any
point can be found
Top and Bottom of Circle
 The tension at the
bottom is a
maximum
 The tension at the
top is a minimum
 If Ttop = 0, then
Motion with Resistive Forces
 Motion can be through a medium
 Either a liquid or a gas
 The medium exerts a resistive force, , on an
object moving through the medium
 The magnitude of depends on the medium
 The direction of is opposite the direction of
motion of the object relative to the medium
 nearly always increases with increasing
speed
Motion with Resistive Forces,
cont
 The magnitude of can depend on the
speed in complex ways
 We will discuss only two
 is proportional to v
 Good approximation for slow motions or small
objects
 is proportional to v2
 Good approximation for large objects
R Proportional To v
 The resistive force can be expressed as

 b depends on the property of the

medium, and on the shape and
dimensions of the object
 The negative sign indicates is in the
opposite direction to
 R Proportional To v, Example
 Analyzing the
motion results in
R Proportional To v, Example,
cont
 Initially, v = 0 and dv/dt = g
 As t increases, R increases and a
decreases
 The acceleration approaches 0 when R
 mg
 At this point, v approaches the terminal
speed of the object
 Terminal Speed
 To find the terminal speed,
let a = 0

 Solving the differential

equation gives

  is the time constant and 

= m/b
R Proportional To v2
 For objects moving at high speeds through
air, the resistive force is approximately
proportional to the square of the speed
 R = 1/2 DAv2
 D is a dimensionless empirical quantity that is
called the drag coefficient
  is the density of air
 A is the cross-sectional area of the object
 v is the speed of the object
R Proportional To v2, example
 Analysis of an object
falling through air
accounting for air
resistance
R Proportional To v2, Terminal
Speed
 The terminal speed
will occur when the
acceleration goes to
zero
 Solving the equation
gives
Some Terminal Speeds
Fundamental Forces
 Gravitational force
 Between two objects
 Electromagnetic forces
 Between two charges
 Nuclear force
 Between subatomic particles
 Weak forces
 Arise in certain radioactive decay processes
Gravitational Force
 Mutual force of attraction between any
two objects in the Universe
 Inherently the weakest of the
fundamental forces
 Described by Newton’s Law of
Universal Gravitation
Electromagnetic Force
 Binds atoms and electrons in ordinary
matter
 Most of the forces we have discussed
are ultimately electromagnetic in nature
 Magnitude is given by Coulomb’s Law
Nuclear Force
 The force that binds the nucleons to form the
nucleus of an atom
 Attractive force
 Extremely short range force
 Negligible for r > ~10-14 m
 For a typical nuclear separation, the nuclear
force is about two orders of magnitude
stronger than the electrostatic force
Weak Force
 Tends to produce instability in certain
nuclei
 Short-range force
 About 1034 times stronger than
gravitational force
 About 103 times stronger than the
electromagnetic force
Unifying the Fundamental
Forces
 Physicists have been searching for a
simplification scheme that reduces the
number of forces
 1987 – Electromagnetic and weak forces
were shown to be manifestations of one
force, the electroweak force
 The nuclear force is now interpreted as a
secondary effect of the strong force acting
between quarks
Drag Coefficients of
Automobiles
Reducing Drag of Automobiles
 Small frontal area
 Smooth curves from the front
 The streamline shape contributes to a low
drag coefficient
 Minimize as many irregularities in the
surfaces as possible
 Including the undercarriage