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Contact forces are often decomposed into orthogonal components, one perpendicular to the surface(s) in contact called the normal force, and one parallel to the surface(s) in contact, called the friction force. [1] Not all forces are contact forces; for example, the weight of an object is the force between the object and the Earth, even though ...
In physics, a body force is a force that acts throughout the volume of a body. [1] Forces due to gravity, electric fields and magnetic fields are examples of body forces. Body forces contrast with contact forces or surface forces which are exerted to the surface of an object. Fictitious forces such as the centrifugal force, Euler force, and the ...
Contact mechanics is the study of the deformation of solids that touch each other at one or more points. [1] [2] A central distinction in contact mechanics is between stresses acting perpendicular to the contacting bodies' surfaces (known as normal stress) and frictional stresses acting tangentially between the surfaces (shear stress).
The most familiar non-contact force is gravity, which confers weight. [1] In contrast, a contact force is a force which acts on an object coming physically in contact with it. [1] All four known fundamental interactions are non-contact forces: [2] Gravity, the force of attraction that exists among all bodies that have mass. The force exerted on ...
where b is the force acting on the body per unit mass (dimensions of acceleration, misleadingly called the "body force"), and dm = ρ dV is an infinitesimal mass element of the body. Body forces and contact forces acting on the body lead to corresponding moments of those forces relative to a given
Saying that body forces are due to outside sources implies that the interaction between different parts of the body (internal forces) are manifested through the contact forces alone. [6] These forces arise from the presence of the body in force fields, e.g. gravitational field (gravitational forces) or electromagnetic field (electromagnetic ...
[17]: 399 If a body is in equilibrium, there is zero net force by definition (balanced forces may be present nevertheless). In contrast, the second law states that if there is an unbalanced force acting on an object it will result in the object's momentum changing over time.
The forces acting on a body add as vectors, and so the total force on a body depends upon both the magnitudes and the directions of the individual forces. [23]: 58 When the net force on a body is equal to zero, then by Newton's second law, the body does not accelerate, and it is said to be in mechanical equilibrium.