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Newton's Third Law

Idea: Forces in nature always exist in pairs. Newton's third law states: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When two bodies interact:
$\displaystyle\vec{F}_{2\,\,{\:\rm on}\,\,1}^{}$ = - $\displaystyle\vec{F}_{1\,\,{\:\rm on}\,\,2}^{}$.      (4)
Where $\vec{F}_{\:\rm 2~on~1}^{}$ is the force exerted on body 1 by body 2 and $\vec{F}_{\:\rm 1~on~2}^{}$ is the force exerted on body 2 by body 1.

For Example: When an object falls towards the earth, the earth exerts a force on it that causes it to accelerate towards the earth. According to Newton's third law, the object exerts a force on the earth as well, and the earth accelerates towards the object. Why don't we feel the earth accelerate?
Solution:

2nd Law $\textstyle\rightarrow$ meae = $\displaystyle\vec{F}_{\:\rm obj~on~earth}^{}$   
3rd Law $\textstyle\rightarrow$ $\displaystyle\vec{F}_{\:\rm obj~on~earth}^{}$ = - $\displaystyle\vec{F}_{\:\rm earth~on~obj}^{}$ $\displaystyle\equiv$ - $\displaystyle\vec{w}$   
  $\textstyle\Rightarrow$ $\displaystyle\vec{a}_{e}^{}$ = - $\displaystyle\vec{w}$/me   
  $\textstyle\Rightarrow$ |$\displaystyle\vec{a}_{e}^{}$| = $\displaystyle\left(\frac{m_{\:\rm obj}}{m_e}\right)g$ $\displaystyle\ll$ g.   
Conclusion: the acceleration of the earth is too small to detect because the mass of the earth is much larger than the mass of the object.


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Next: Applications of Newton's Laws Up: Force Previous: Newton's Second Law

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10/9/1997