Related papers: Newtons First Law Is Not a Special Case of the Sec…
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…
Newton's laws of motion pose an apparent problem, sometimes referred to as "the independence problem": the first law seems to be a simple consequence of the second law, raising the question of why it was included as a separate law. Numerous…
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…
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…
Most of the logical objections against the classical laws of motion, as they are usually presented in textbooks, centre on the fact that defining force in terms of mass and acceleration, the first two laws are mere assertions of concepts to…
Under certain conditions usually fulfilled in classical mechanics, the principle of conservation of linear momentum and Newton's third law are equivalent. However, the demonstration of this fact is usually incomplete in textbooks. We shall…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Misinterpretations of Newton's second law for variable mass systems found in the literature are addressed. In particular, it is shown that Newton's second law in the form $\vec{F} = \dot{\vec{p}}$ is valid for variable mass systems in…
According to Newton's law of gravitation the force between two particles depends upon their inertial, as well as their active and passive gravitational masses. For ordinary matter all three of these are equal and positive. We consider here…
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…
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…
This contribution analyses the classical laws of motion by means of an approach relating time and entropy. We argue that adopting the notion of change of states as opposed to the usual derivation of Newton's laws in terms of fields a…
In some cases, it is possible to show the conservation of energy by using equations of motion in mechanics. By considering these results, some people can think that the conservation of energy is the result of equations of motion or Newton's…
In the present essay we attempt to reconstruct Newtonian mechanics under the guidance of logical principles and of a constructive approach related to the genetic epistemology of J. Piaget and R. Garc\'ia \citep{piag89}. Instead of…
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…
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…
Action at a distance in Newtonian physics is replaced by finite propagation speeds in classical physics, the physics defined by the field theories of Maxwell and Einstein. As a result, the differential equations of motion in Newtonian…