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Newtons Laws PDF

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60 views11 pages

Newtons Laws PDF

Uploaded by

Rio Chan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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© Dr.

Lizhi Xu, educational purposes only

Lecture 3:

Newton’s laws; Frame of Reference

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© Dr. Lizhi Xu, educational purposes only

1st law: In an inertial frame of reference, an object either


remains at rest or continues to move at a constant velocity,
unless acted upon by a force.

2nd law: In an inertial frame of reference, the vector sum


of the forces F on an object is equal to the mass m of that
object multiplied by the acceleration a of the object.

ΣF=ma
SI unit: = /

3rd law: The mutual forces of action and reaction between


two particles are equal, opposite, and collinear.
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© Dr. Lizhi Xu, educational purposes only

inertial frame of reference ≡ frame of reference where


Newton’s laws apply.

(can be verified by experiments)

In most cases, if something is at rest or moving at a constant


velocity relative to the ground, and is without rotation, then it
can be taken as an inertial frame of reference.
(No acceleration!)

(not strictly true though, see the last slide of this lecture)

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© Dr. Lizhi Xu, educational purposes only

Case 1: Single Particle

A block is sliding downhill on a fixed rigid


y surface. The coefficient of kinetic friction is μ.
N
Find the resultant force acting on the block
x and its acceleration.

F = μN Gx ΣF=ma
Gy θ
Fx = Gx – F = mg sin θ - μN

G = mg Fy = N - mg cos θ = 0

ay = 0 = Fy/m

Fx = mg (sin θ - μcos θ ) ax = Fx/m = g (sin θ - μcos θ )


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© Dr. Lizhi Xu, educational purposes only

Case 2: System of Particles


Fi
z
For a single particle:
mi
fi Fi + fi = mi ai
ri (Fi: resultant external force
fi: resultant internal force )
G

O rG
For all the particles:
Σ Fi + Σ fi = Σ mi ai
y =0
x
G: center of mass Σ mi ri = m rG Σ mi ai = m aG
Σ F = m aG
sum of external forces = total mass by acceleration of the center of mass
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© Dr. Lizhi Xu, educational purposes only

Case 3: Non-Inertial Frame of Reference (“Elevator”)

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© Dr. Lizhi Xu, educational purposes only

Case 3: Non-Inertial Frame of Reference (“Elevator”)


You are in an elevator starting to move up with an
acceleration a (relative to the ground).

1. Find the normal force the elevator exerts on you.


2. Evaluate Newton’s second law in a frame of
reference fixed to the elevator cart.

a y’
1. ΣF = N – mg = ma N = mg + ma
x’
N
2. You are at rest relative to the elevator cart:

y v’ = 0 , a’ = 0
ΣF = N – mg = ma ≠ 0
x
mg ΣF ≠ ma’ What happened?!

The frame of reference in 2 is NOT a inertial frame of reference! (due to a) 54


© Dr. Lizhi Xu, educational purposes only

Case 3: How to Make it Work? (Inertial / Fictitious Force)


We know that our non-inertial frame of reference has
an acceleration a with respect to the ground.

Now add an imaginary force F’ = – ma

a y’ ΣF = N – mg + F’

x’
= mg + ma - mg - ma
N
2. = 0 = ma’
y
The F’ is called inertial or fictitious
F’ x force. It makes Newton’s laws work in a
mg non-inertial frame of reference.

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© Dr. Lizhi Xu, educational purposes only

You Can Feel The Inertial Force!


(when your elevator starts to move)

F’

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© Dr. Lizhi Xu, educational purposes only
Extended Case: Rotating Frame of Reference
For simplicity, we will exclude rotating frame of reference from the discussion in the further lectures.
North Pole

North Pole North Pole

centrifugal
force Coriolis
force
inertial forces

For an object with a


“constant velocity”
a=− +

• The earth is not strictly a inertial frame of reference due to rotation!


(need to consider inertial forces)

• In many cases, the rotation of the earth is negligible. For our convenience,
we can then treat it as an inertial frame of reference.
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© Dr. Lizhi Xu, educational purposes only

Key Points on Newton’s Laws:

• Newton’s laws only work with inertial frame of reference.

• If dealing with non-inertial frame of reference, consider


inertial forces.

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