Related papers: The relation between momentum conservation and New…
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…
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…
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…
The law of action-reaction, considered by Ernst Mach the cornerstone of physics, is thoroughly used to derive the conservation laws of linear and angular momentum. However, the conflict between momentum conservation law and Newton's third…
The law of action-reaction is thoroughly used in textbooks to derive the conservation laws of linear and angular momentum, and it was considered by Ernst Mach the the cornerstone of physics. We give here a background survey of several…
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…
We consider conservation of momentum in AQUAL, a field-theoretic extension to Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND). We show that while there is a sense in which momentum is conserved, it is only if momentum is attributed to the gravitational…
Newton's third law states that any action is countered by a reaction of equal magnitude but opposite direction. The total force in a system not affected by external forces is thus zero. However, according to the principles of relativity, a…
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…
There are several formulations of the second law, and they may, in principle, have different domains of validity. Here a simple mathematical theorem is proven which serves as the most general basis for the second law, namely the Thomson…
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…
We analyze a category of problems that is of interest in many physical situations, including those encountered in introductory physics classes: systems with two well-delineated parts that exchange energy, eventually reaching a shared…
The interaction between two parts in a compound quantum system may be reconsidered more completely than before and some new understandings and conclusions different from current quantum mechanics are obtained, including the conservation law…
It is demonstrated that energy conservation allows for a straight derivation of Newtonian mechanics without an apriori definition of the concept of work. Furthermore it is shown that energy must be depicted as a function of position and…
In a recent Letter [arXiv:1205.0096], Mansuripur considers a magnetic dipole positioned at a fixed location from a point charge. Performing a Lorentz transformation to a laboratory frame where the charge distribution moves he finds that `a…
Based on the Bohr's correspondence principle it is shown that relativistic mechanics and quantum mechanics may be considered as generalizations of classical mechanics. A comparative description of relativistic and classical mechanics is…
We start by surveying the history of the idea of a fundamental conservation law and briefly examine the role conservation laws play in different classical contexts. In such contexts we find conservation laws to be useful, but often not…
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…
Gauge invariant conservation laws for the linear and angular momenta are studied in a certain 2+1 dimensional first order dynamical model of vortices in superconductivity. In analogy with fluid vortices it is possible to express the linear…
While studying the motion of a heavy symmetric top, in general, constants of motion are used. Some students may want to understand the motion in terms of torque, which can lie on their routine based on the usage of Newton's second law.…