All Questions
11
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4
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What does the $F$ in Newton's second law equation mean?
This is a super simple question: does $F$ represent the net force exerted on an object or the force it exerts on another object as a result of momentum? Say a ball is rolling. In this specific ...
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1
vote
1
answer
239
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How exactly IS Newton’s second law verified experimentally?
In R. Shankar’s “Fundamentals of Physics : Vol 1” while discussing Newton’s Second Law of Motion, Prof. Shankar raises the question : how do we know Newton is right? I quote from the book :
Take ...
- 11
1
vote
1
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103
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What is a physically precise definition of mass in Newtonian mechanics? [duplicate]
How do we get to know the concept of mass in Newtonian Mechanics?
Like, from Newton's Second Law of motion we get : $\frac{d\vec P}{dt} = \vec F$ from here, $m\frac{d\vec v}{dt} = F$, defining $\frac{...
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1
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Definition of mass, force, Newton's law and Foucault's experiment
In a "modern way of teaching Newtonian mechanics", there are several notions to define before stating Newton's laws, which appear in the laws.
(i) Position and time in reference frames. I'll ...
2
votes
2
answers
257
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Are mass and force defined simultaneously? [duplicate]
Everything I am talking about here takes place in the Newtonian mechanics, but it is also interesting to discuss everything in the context of special theory of relativity, quantum-mechanics or even ...
- 21
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58
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Determining mass and force separately
I have been thinking.. How can we measure the mass of the body separately from the force? Or should we measure the force and acceleration? But by which means can we gauge our equipment e.g. some ...
- 1,803
1
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3
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1k
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What's the difference between gravitational attraction and weight? [duplicate]
What exactly is gravitational attraction? In my textbook it was quoted " all objects both tiny and large objects are attracted to the earth. This is known as gravitational attraction, or the force due ...
- 117
2
votes
2
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582
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Operational definitions in Newtonian Physics
Operational definitions are constructed from the observations we make in nature. Experiments show us that two objects $m_1$ and $m_2$ in a local inertial frame, isolated from the rest of the universe, ...
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5
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2
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700
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Question about inertial mass and gravitational mass
I know that inertial mass $m_i$ is the quantity that appears in Newton's second law: $F=m_ia$ and that gravitational mass $m_{g_1}$ is the quantity that appears in Newton's gravitational law: $F_g=Gm_{...
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Why is the definition of inertial mass circular? [duplicate]
On Wikipedia, the definition of inertial mass is:
Inertial mass is the mass of an object measured by its resistance to
acceleration. And, can be evaluated using $F = ma$, Newton's second
law.
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112
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6
answers
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Are Newton's "laws" of motion laws or definitions of force and mass?
If you consider them as laws, then there must be independent definitions of force and mass but I don't think there's such definitions.
If you consider them as definitions, then why are they still ...
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