Whenever you see images of planets, moons, or solar systems you can thank Isaac Newton for the work he did in making this happen. Isaac Newton invented the reflecting telescope (also called the Newtonian telescope), which makes use of mirrors in order to reflect and enhance light onto a particular surface. I will briefly speak about a few Isaac Newton Inventions that made the most impact on the world as we know it. Issac Newton’s inventions span a vast area of subjects and sciences. Isaac Newton inventions have quite literally made a profound impact on science, mathematics, gravitation astronomy, optics and chemistry. The two forces are equal in strength and oriented in opposite directions.Sir Isaac Newton is recognized as one of the greatest geniuses to have ever lived. When one object exerts a force on a second object, the second object also exerts a force on the first object. In other words, every force involves the interaction of two objects. This is a better way to say it:Ī force is exerted by one object on another object. Everyone knows that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, right? Unfortunately, this statement lacks some necessary detail. Newton’s third law is probably the most familiar. This law is exemplified by what happens if we step off a boat onto the bank of a lake: as we move in the direction of the shore, the boat tends to move in the opposite direction (leaving us facedown in the water, if we aren’t careful!). For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Once account is taken of all forces acting in a given situation it is the dynamics of Galileo and Newton, not of Aristotle, that are found to be in accord with the observations. As we have noted earlier in conjunction with the discussion of Galileo, Aristotle’s view seems to be more in accord with common sense, but that is because of a failure to appreciate the role played by frictional forces. Thus, according to Aristotle there is only a velocity if there is a force, but according to Newton an object with a certain velocity maintains that velocity unless a force acts on it to cause an acceleration (that is, a change in the velocity). This is sometimes summarized by saying that under Newton, F = ma, but under Aristotle F = mv, where v is the velocity. Notice the fundamental difference between Newton’s 2nd Law and the dynamics of Aristotle: according to Newton, a force causes only a change in velocity (an acceleration) it does not maintain the velocity as Aristotle held. This is the most powerful of Newton’s three Laws, because it allows quantitative calculations of dynamics: how do velocities change when forces are applied. Second Law of Motion: Force = Mass x Acceleration Acceleration and force are vectors (as indicated by their symbols being displayed in slant bold font) in this law the direction of the force vector is the same as the direction of the acceleration vector. The relationship between an object’s mass m, its acceleration a, and the applied force F is F = m a. Before we continue with his other two laws, let’s review some of the important history that informed them. Newton owed much to events and people who preceded him. In fact, the marble-and-ramp thought experiment described previously is credited to Galileo. That honor goes to Galileo and to René Descartes. Interestingly, Newton wasn’t the first scientist to come up with the law of inertia. In this case, the marble will neither slow down nor speed up. Finally, you push a marble on a ramp that represents the middle state between the first two - in other words, a ramp that is perfectly horizontal. Now, you give a gentle push to the marble going uphill on the second ramp. The marble speeds up on its way down the ramp. You let a marble roll down the first ramp, which is set at a slight incline. Also imagine that the ramps are infinitely long and infinitely smooth. But imagine that you have three ramps set up as shown below. The “forever” part is difficult to swallow sometimes. An object in motion will stay in motion, traveling in a straight line, forever, until something pushes or pulls on it. An object at rest will stay at rest, forever, as long as nothing pushes or pulls on it. Let’s restate Newton’s first law in everyday terms: This we recognize as essentially Galileo’s concept of inertia, and this is often termed simply the “Law of Inertia”. Newton’s First Law of Motion: Law of Inertia
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