Related papers: On the independence problem of Newton's first law
Newtons Laws of Motion form the basis of classical mechanics, but misconceptions about their interrelationships persist in pedagogy. A prevalent misunderstanding is that Newtons First Law is a trivial consequence of the Second Law. This…
Newton's First Law of Motion is typically understood to govern only the motion of force-free bodies. This paper argues on textual and conceptual grounds that it is in fact a stronger, more general principle. The First Law limits the extent…
In teaching the physical sciences, a significant challenge lies in the student's tendency to consider the scientific world and the "real" world as separate. For example, Newton's 1st Law of Motion states that an object in motion remains in…
Despite its apparent simplicity, Newtonian Mechanics contains conceptual subtleties that may cause some confusion to the deep-thinking student. These subtleties concern fundamental issues such as, e.g., the number of independent laws needed…
We revisit Newton's equation of motion in one dimension when the moving particle has a variable mass m(x,t) depending both on position (x) and time (t). Geometrically the mass function is identified with one of the metric function in a…
This article serves as a pedagogical introduction to the problem of motion in classical field theories. The primary focus is on self-interaction: How does an object's own field affect its motion? General laws governing the self-force and…
Interactions are explored through the observation of the dynamics of particles. On the classical level the basic underlying assumption in that scheme is that Newton's second law holds. Relaxing the validity of this axiom by, e.g., allowing…
Newton's second law has limited scope of application when transient phenomena are present. We consider a modification of Newton's second law in order to take into account a sudden change (surge) of angular momentum or linear momentum. We…
Starting from first principles and general assumptions Newton's law of gravitation is shown to arise naturally and unavoidably in a theory in which space is emergent through a holographic scenario. Gravity is explained as an entropic force…
Ponderable objects moving in free space according to Newton's First Law constitute both rulers and clocks when one such object is viewed from the rest frame of another. Together with the Reciprocity Principle this is used to demonstrate, in…
It is proved that the set of geodesic circles in two dimensions may be given a variational description and the explicit form of it is presented. In the limit case of the Euclidean geometry a certain claim of uniqueness of such description…
We explain the solution of the following two problems: obtaining of Kepler's laws from Newton's laws (so called two bodies problem) and obtaining the fourth Newton's law (the formula for gravitation) as a corollary of Kepler's laws. This…
I discuss the physical basis of classical mechanics, such as expressed commonly using the framework of Newton's Principia. Newton's formulation of the laws of motion is seen to have quite a few ambiguities and shortcomings. Therefore I…
We consider the motion of several rigid bodies immersed in a two-dimensional incompress-ible perfect fluid, the whole system being bounded by an external impermeable fixed boundary. The fluid motion is described by the incompressible Euler…
Based on a physical monism, which holds that the matter and space are classified by not a difference of their kind but a difference of magnitude of their density, I derive the most fundamental equation of motion, which is capable of…
I begin by reviewing some recent work on the status of the geodesic principle in general relativity and the geometrized formulation of Newtonian gravitation. I then turn to the question of whether either of these theories might be said to…
We start by formulating geometrically the Newton's law for a classical free particle in terms of Riemannian geometry, as pattern for subsequent developments. In fact, we use this scheme for further generalisation devoted to a constrained…
Using the quantum Hamilton-Jacobi equation within the framework of the equivalence postulate, we construct a Lagrangian of a quantum system in one dimension and derive a third order equation of motion representing a first integral of the…
A closer look (with hindsight) at Newtonian and relativistic kinematics reveals two things. Not surprisingly, Newtonian time remains the empty and artificial - albeit useful - figment it is known to be. Quite unexpectedly however it turns…
In this paper of "The Epistemology of Contemporary Physics" series we investigate Newton's third law and discuss and analyze its epistemological significance from some aspects with special attention to its relation to the principle of…