Related papers: A spaceship with a thruster - one body, one force
With an investigation into how students in a physics Master of science program make sense of their whole first year study experience in one of the years following a programme reform, we try to offer insights and advice to consider when…
This manuscript is written for students in introductory physics classes to address some of the common difficulties and misconceptions of the normal force, especially the relationship between normal and friction forces. Accordingly, it is…
We argue that a clear view on quantum mechanics is obtained by considering that the unicity of the macroscopic world is a fundamental postulate of physics, rather than an issue that must be mathematically justified or demonstrated. This…
Excellent computer simulations are done for a purpose. The most valid purposes are to explore uncharted territory, to resolve a well-posed scientific or technical question, or to make a design choice. Stand-alone modeling can serve the…
Here we discuss direct links of the number of fundamental dimensions to the fundamental natural constants using simple arguments of dimensional analysis \corr{based on Maxwell's dimensions length (L), time (T) and mass (M) as well as the…
Optimal mass transport, also known as the earth mover's problem, is an optimization problem with important applications in various disciplines, including economics, probability theory, fluid dynamics, cosmology and geophysics to cite a few.…
Simple physical models of a measuring rod and of a clock are used to demonstrate the contraction of objects and clock retardation in special relativity. It is argued that the models could help in promoting student understanding of special…
Orbits of celestial objects, especially the geocentric and heliocentric ones, have been well explored to constrain new long-range forces beyond the Standard Model (SM), often referred to as fifth forces. In this paper, for the first time,…
The classical theory of strain in material continua is reviewed and generalized to space-time. Strain is attributed to "external" (matter/energy fields) and intrinsic sources fixing the global symmetry of the universe (defects in the…
Gravitation has posed a puzzle and a problem for many decades. Attempts to unify it with other fundamental interactions have failed. These problems and puzzles have been underscored by the likes of Witten and Weinberg. We survey this and…
The formalism of classical particle dynamics is reinvestigated according to the basic requirement of causal consistency, and a new equation of particle dynamics, which is more general and more in line with classical mechanics experiments…
Close planetary flybys are frequently employed as a technique to place spacecraft on extreme solar system trajectories that would otherwise require much larger booster vehicles or may not even be feasible when relying solely on chemical…
Interstellar comets arrive with key ingredients for deep-space platforms already in place: volatile inventories convertible to propellant, natural rotation providing continuous attitude variation, and hyperbolic trajectories that carry them…
Various actuators are used in spacecraft to achieve attitude stabilization, including thrusters, momentum wheels, and control moment gyros. Small satellites, however, have stringent size, weight, and cost constraints, which makes many…
The suggested approach makes it possible to produce a consistent description of motions of a physical system. It is shown that the concept of force fields defining the systems dynamics is equivalent to the choice of the corresponding metric…
Circular orbits of a particle sliding on a frictionless surface of revolution about a vertical axis are unstable below a critical radius if the curvature of the surface satisfies a specified condition. This behavior can be realized in a…
Variable mass systems are a classic example of open systems in classical mechanics. The reaction forces due to mass variation propel ships, balloons, and rockets. Unlike free constant mass systems, the angular momentum of these systems is…
A single frictional elastic disk, supported against gravity by two others, rotates steadily when the supports are vibrated and the system is tilted with respect to gravity. Rotation is here studied using Molecular Dynamics Simulations, and…
We derive exact expressions for the scalar and electromagnetic self-forces and self-torques acting on arbitrary static extended bodies in arbitrary static spacetimes with any number of dimensions. Non-perturbatively, our results are…
The case of the planar circular restricted three-body problem where one of the two primaries has a stronger gravitational field with respect to the classical Newtonian field is investigated. We consider the case where two primaries have the…