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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.
The case of any number of forces acting on the same object is covered by considering the sum of all forces. A possible cause of this problem is that the third law is often stated in an abbreviated form: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, [8] without the details, namely that these forces act on two different objects ...
Air immediately above and below the cylinder is curving downwards, accelerated by the pressure gradient. A downwards force is acting on the air. Newton's third law predicts that the Magnus force and the downwards force acting on the air are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.
The action depends on the energy function, and the energy function depends on the position, motion, and interactions in the system: variation of the action allows the derivation of the equations of motion without vector or forces. Several distinct action principles differ in the constraints on their initial and final conditions.
In a two-body rotation, such as a planet and moon rotating about their common center of mass or barycentre, the forces on both bodies are centripetal. In that case, the reaction to the centripetal force of the planet on the moon is the centripetal force of the moon on the planet. [6]
Important forces include the gravitational force and the Lorentz force for electromagnetism. In addition, Newton's third law can sometimes be used to deduce the forces acting on a particle: if it is known that particle A exerts a force F on another particle B, it follows that B must exert an equal and opposite reaction force, −F, on A.
Action at a distance also acts as a model explaining physical phenomena even in the presence of other models. Again in the case of gravity, hypothesizing an instantaneous force between masses allows the return time of comets to be predicted as well as predicting the existence of previously unknown planets, like Neptune.
An object resting on a surface and the corresponding free body diagram showing the forces acting on the object. The normal force N is equal, opposite, and collinear to the gravitational force mg so the net force and moment is zero. Consequently, the object is in a state of static mechanical equilibrium. In classical mechanics, a particle is in ...