![]() This last insight is how Newton unlocked the entire cosmos. Another example: when you sit on a chair, you're applying a force to it, but the chair is also applying a force to you - it's what you feel pushing up on you. But that force back on you is what gives you the sensation of resistance. If you're more massive than a football, then when you kick it your acceleration will be small, while the football will go flying. The key is that while the forces are equal, the accelerations aren't. How could that be, if you're not moving and the object is? Easy peasy, right? But did you know that the object is simultaneously pushing back on you? When you push on something, you're applying a force to it and causing it to accelerate. But it too was a major revolution in thought. Newton's last law, that each force has an equal and opposite force, seems like a minor addition. Related: Einstein's theory of general relativity All of modern physics boils down, at the very deepest levels, to expressing the conservation of momentum in different scenarios.įrom electrons in an atom to the expansion of the universe, it's all tied to the same concept, which can trace its roots to Newton's second law. They all rest and rely on the conservation of momentum to guide them. Seriously, all of it: general and special relativity, quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, particle physics and so on. If you've never met momentum conservation before, you should know that this concept is a cornerstone of every single branch of physics. All interactions between objects (e.g., collisions, bumps, knocks, smashes and so on) will preserve the total amount of momentum between them. Objects will maintain their momentum until a force is applied, and that force will change their momentum. Newton's second law is really the law of conservation of momentum written in another way. Rocket physics depend on understanding Newton's Laws of Motion. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches the CRS-26 resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA on Nov.
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