Force

FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Inphysics,aforceisanyinteractionwhichtendstochangethe
motionofanobject.[1]Inotherwords,aforcecancauseanobject
withmasstochangeitsvelocity(whichincludestobeginmoving
fromastateofrest),i.e.,toaccelerate.Forcecanalsobe
describedbyintuitiveconceptssuchasapushorapull.Aforce
hasbothmagnitudeanddirection,makingitavectorquantity.It
ismeasuredintheSIunitofnewtonsandrepresentedbythe
symbolF.
TheoriginalformofNewton'ssecondlawstatesthatthenetforce
actinguponanobjectisequaltotherateatwhichitsmomentum
changeswithtime.Ifthemassoftheobjectisconstant,thislaw
impliesthattheaccelerationofanobjectisdirectlyproportional
tothenetforceactingontheobject,isinthedirectionofthenet
force,andisinverselyproportionaltothemassoftheobject.Asa
formula,thisisexpressedas:

wherethearrowsimplyavectorquantitypossessingboth
magnitudeanddirection.

Force

Forcesarealsodescribedasapushorpullonan
object.Theycanbeduetophenomenasuchas
gravity,magnetism,oranythingthatmight
causeamasstoaccelerate.
Commonsymbols

SIunit
Relatedconceptstoforceinclude:thrust,whichincreasesthe
velocityofanobjectdrag,whichdecreasesthevelocityofan
InSIbaseunits
objectandtorquewhichproduceschangesinrotationalspeedof
Derivationsfrom
anobject.Inanextendedbody,eachpartusuallyappliesforces
otherquantities
ontheadjacentpartsthedistributionofsuchforcesthroughthe
bodyisthesocalledmechanicalstress.Pressureisasimpletype
ofstress.Stressusuallycausesdeformationofsolidmaterials,orflowinfluids.

F,F
newton
1 kgm/s2
F=ma

Contents
1Developmentoftheconcept
2PreNewtonianconcepts
3Newtonianmechanics
3.1Firstlaw
3.2Secondlaw
3.3Thirdlaw
4Specialtheoryofrelativity
5Descriptions
5.1Equilibrium
5.1.1Static
5.1.2Dynamic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

1/25

5.2ForcesinQuantumMechanics
5.3Feynmandiagrams
6Fundamentalforces
6.1Gravitational
6.2Electromagnetic
6.3Nuclear
7Nonfundamentalforces
7.1Normalforce
7.2Friction
7.3Tension
7.4Elasticforce
7.5Continuummechanics
7.6Fictitiousforces
8Rotationsandtorque
8.1Centripetalforce
9Kinematicintegrals
10Potentialenergy
10.1Conservativeforces
10.2Nonconservativeforces
11Unitsofmeasurement
12Forcemeasurement
13Seealso
14Notes
15References
16Furtherreading
17Externallinks

Developmentoftheconcept
Philosophersinantiquityusedtheconceptofforceinthestudyofstationaryandmovingobjectsandsimple
machines,butthinkerssuchasAristotleandArchimedesretainedfundamentalerrorsinunderstandingforce.In
partthiswasduetoanincompleteunderstandingofthesometimesnonobviousforceoffriction,anda
consequentlyinadequateviewofthenatureofnaturalmotion.[2]Afundamentalerrorwasthebeliefthataforce
isrequiredtomaintainmotion,evenataconstantvelocity.Mostofthepreviousmisunderstandingsaboutmotion
andforcewereeventuallycorrectedbySirIsaacNewtonwithhismathematicalinsight,heformulatedlawsof
motionthatwerenotimprovedonfornearlythreehundredyears.[3]Bytheearly20thcentury,Einstein
developedatheoryofrelativitythatcorrectlypredictedtheactionofforcesonobjectswithincreasingmomenta
nearthespeedoflight,andalsoprovidedinsightintotheforcesproducedbygravitationandinertia.
Withmoderninsightsintoquantummechanicsandtechnologythatcanaccelerateparticlesclosetothespeedof
light,particlephysicshasdevisedaStandardModeltodescribeforcesbetweenparticlessmallerthanatoms.The
StandardModelpredictsthatexchangedparticlescalledgaugebosonsarethefundamentalmeansbywhich
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

2/25

forcesareemittedandabsorbed.Onlyfourmaininteractionsareknown:inorderofdecreasingstrength,theyare:
strong,electromagnetic,weak,andgravitational.[4]:210[5]:79Highenergyparticlephysicsobservationsmade
duringthe1970sand1980sconfirmedthattheweakandelectromagneticforcesareexpressionsofamore
fundamentalelectroweakinteraction.[6]

PreNewtonianconcepts
Sinceantiquitytheconceptofforcehasbeenrecognizedasintegraltothe
functioningofeachofthesimplemachines.Themechanicaladvantage
givenbyasimplemachineallowedforlessforcetobeusedinexchange
forthatforceactingoveragreaterdistanceforthesameamountofwork.
Analysisofthecharacteristicsofforcesultimatelyculminatedinthework
ofArchimedeswhowasespeciallyfamousforformulatingatreatmentof
buoyantforcesinherentinfluids.[2]
Aristotleprovidedaphilosophicaldiscussionoftheconceptofaforceas
anintegralpartofAristoteliancosmology.InAristotle'sview,the
terrestrialspherecontainedfourelementsthatcometorestatdifferent
"naturalplaces"therein.Aristotlebelievedthatmotionlessobjectson
Earth,thosecomposedmostlyoftheelementsearthandwater,tobein
theirnaturalplaceonthegroundandthattheywillstaythatwayifleft
alone.Hedistinguishedbetweentheinnatetendencyofobjectstofind
their"naturalplace"(e.g.,forheavybodiestofall),whichledto"natural
motion",andunnaturalorforcedmotion,whichrequiredcontinued
Aristotlefamouslydescribedaforce
applicationofaforce.[7]Thistheory,basedontheeverydayexperienceof
asanythingthatcausesanobjectto
howobjectsmove,suchastheconstantapplicationofaforceneededto
undergo"unnaturalmotion"
keepacartmoving,hadconceptualtroubleaccountingforthebehaviorof
projectiles,suchastheflightofarrows.Theplacewherethearchermoves
theprojectilewasatthestartoftheflight,andwhiletheprojectilesailedthroughtheair,nodiscernibleefficient
causeactsonit.Aristotlewasawareofthisproblemandproposedthattheairdisplacedthroughtheprojectile's
pathcarriestheprojectiletoitstarget.Thisexplanationdemandsacontinuumlikeairforchangeofplacein
general.[8]
AristotelianphysicsbeganfacingcriticisminMedievalscience,firstbyJohnPhiloponusinthe6thcentury.
TheshortcomingsofAristotelianphysicswouldnotbefullycorrecteduntilthe17thcenturyworkofGalileo
Galilei,whowasinfluencedbythelateMedievalideathatobjectsinforcedmotioncarriedaninnateforceof
impetus.Galileoconstructedanexperimentinwhichstonesandcannonballswerebothrolleddownaninclineto
disprovetheAristoteliantheoryofmotionearlyinthe17thcentury.Heshowedthatthebodieswereaccelerated
bygravitytoanextentwhichwasindependentoftheirmassandarguedthatobjectsretaintheirvelocityunless
actedonbyaforce,forexamplefriction.[9]

Newtonianmechanics
SirIsaacNewtonsoughttodescribethemotionofallobjectsusingtheconceptsofinertiaandforce,andindoing
sohefoundthattheyobeycertainconservationlaws.In1687,NewtonwentontopublishhisthesisPhilosophi
NaturalisPrincipiaMathematica.[3][10]InthisworkNewtonsetoutthreelawsofmotionthattothisdayarethe
wayforcesaredescribedinphysics.[10]

Firstlaw
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

3/25

Newton'sFirstLawofMotionstatesthatobjectscontinuetomoveinastateofconstantvelocityunlessacted
uponbyanexternalnetforceorresultantforce.[10]ThislawisanextensionofGalileo'sinsightthatconstant
velocitywasassociatedwithalackofnetforce(seeamoredetaileddescriptionofthisbelow).Newtonproposed
thateveryobjectwithmasshasaninnateinertiathatfunctionsasthefundamentalequilibrium"naturalstate"in
placeoftheAristotelianideaofthe"naturalstateofrest".Thatis,thefirstlawcontradictstheintuitive
Aristotelianbeliefthatanetforceisrequiredtokeepanobjectmovingwithconstantvelocity.Bymakingrest
physicallyindistinguishablefromnonzeroconstantvelocity,Newton'sFirstLawdirectlyconnectsinertiawith
theconceptofrelativevelocities.Specifically,insystemswhereobjectsaremovingwithdifferentvelocities,itis
impossibletodeterminewhichobjectis"inmotion"andwhichobjectis"atrest".Inotherwords,tophrase
mattersmoretechnically,thelawsofphysicsarethesameineveryinertialframeofreference,thatis,inall
framesrelatedbyaGalileantransformation.
Forinstance,whiletravelinginamovingvehicleataconstantvelocity,thelawsofphysicsdonotchangefrom
beingatrest.Apersoncanthrowaballstraightupintheairandcatchitasitfallsdownwithoutworryingabout
applyingaforceinthedirectionthevehicleismoving.Thisistrueeventhoughanotherpersonwhoisobserving
themovingvehiclepassbyalsoobservestheballfollowacurvingparabolicpathinthesamedirectionasthe
motionofthevehicle.Itistheinertiaoftheballassociatedwithitsconstantvelocityinthedirectionofthe
vehicle'smotionthatensurestheballcontinuestomoveforwardevenasitisthrownupandfallsbackdown.
Fromtheperspectiveofthepersoninthecar,thevehicleandeverythinginsideofitisatrest:Itistheoutside
worldthatismovingwithaconstantspeedintheoppositedirection.Sincethereisnoexperimentthatcan
distinguishwhetheritisthevehiclethatisatrestortheoutsideworldthatisatrest,thetwosituationsare
consideredtobephysicallyindistinguishable.Inertiathereforeappliesequallywelltoconstantvelocitymotionas
itdoestorest.
Theconceptofinertiacanbefurthergeneralizedtoexplainthetendencyofobjectstocontinueinmanydifferent
formsofconstantmotion,eventhosethatarenotstrictlyconstantvelocity.TherotationalinertiaofplanetEarth
iswhatfixestheconstancyofthelengthofadayandthelengthofayear.AlbertEinsteinextendedtheprinciple
ofinertiafurtherwhenheexplainedthatreferenceframessubjecttoconstantacceleration,suchasthosefree
fallingtowardagravitatingobject,werephysicallyequivalenttoinertialreferenceframes.Thisiswhy,for
example,astronautsexperienceweightlessnesswheninfreefallorbitaroundtheEarth,andwhyNewton'sLaws
ofMotionaremoreeasilydiscernibleinsuchenvironments.Ifanastronautplacesanobjectwithmassinmidair
nexttohimself,itwillremainstationarywithrespecttotheastronautduetoitsinertia.Thisisthesamethingthat
wouldoccuriftheastronautandtheobjectwereinintergalacticspacewithnonetforceofgravityactingontheir
sharedreferenceframe.Thisprincipleofequivalencewasoneofthefoundationalunderpinningsforthe
developmentofthegeneraltheoryofrelativity.[11]

Secondlaw
AmodernstatementofNewton'sSecondLawisavectordifferentialequation:[Note1]

where isthemomentumofthesystem,andisthenet(vectorsum)force.Inequilibrium,thereiszeronetforce
bydefinition,but(balanced)forcesmaybepresentnevertheless.Incontrast,thesecondlawstatesanunbalanced
forceactingonanobjectwillresultintheobject'smomentumchangingovertime.[10]
Bythedefinitionofmomentum,

wheremisthemassandisthevelocity.[4]:91,92
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

4/25

Newton'ssecondlawappliesonlytoasystemofconstantmass,[Note2]
andhencemmaybemovedoutsidethederivativeoperator.Theequation
thenbecomes

Bysubstitutingthedefinitionofacceleration,thealgebraicversionof
Newton'sSecondLawisderived:

Newtonneverexplicitlystatedtheformulainthereducedformabove.[12]
Newton'sSecondLawassertsthedirectproportionalityofaccelerationto
forceandtheinverseproportionalityofaccelerationtomass.
Accelerationscanbedefinedthroughkinematicmeasurements.However,
whilekinematicsarewelldescribedthroughreferenceframeanalysisin
advancedphysics,therearestilldeepquestionsthatremainastowhatis
theproperdefinitionofmass.Generalrelativityoffersanequivalence
betweenspacetimeandmass,butlackingacoherenttheoryofquantum
gravity,itisunclearastohoworwhetherthisconnectionisrelevanton
microscales.Withsomejustification,Newton'ssecondlawcanbetaken
asaquantitativedefinitionofmassbywritingthelawasanequalitythe
relativeunitsofforceandmassthenarefixed.

ThoughSirIsaacNewton'smost
famousequationis
,heactuallywrotedowna
differentformforhissecondlawof
motionthatdidnotusedifferential
calculus.

TheuseofNewton'sSecondLawasadefinitionofforcehasbeendisparagedinsomeofthemorerigorous
textbooks,[4]:121[5]:59[13]becauseitisessentiallyamathematicaltruism.Notablephysicists,philosophersand
mathematicianswhohavesoughtamoreexplicitdefinitionoftheconceptofforceincludeErnstMach,Clifford
TruesdellandWalterNoll.[14][15]
Newton'sSecondLawcanbeusedtomeasurethestrengthofforces.Forinstance,knowledgeofthemassesof
planetsalongwiththeaccelerationsoftheirorbitsallowsscientiststocalculatethegravitationalforceson
planets.

Thirdlaw
Newton'sThirdLawisaresultofapplyingsymmetrytosituationswhereforcescanbeattributedtothepresence
ofdifferentobjects.Thethirdlawmeansthatallforcesareinteractionsbetweendifferentbodies,[16][Note3]and
thusthatthereisnosuchthingasaunidirectionalforceoraforcethatactsononlyonebody.Wheneverafirst
bodyexertsaforceFonasecondbody,thesecondbodyexertsaforceFonthefirstbody.FandFareequal
inmagnitudeandoppositeindirection.Thislawissometimesreferredtoastheactionreactionlaw,withF
calledthe"action"andFthe"reaction".Theactionandthereactionaresimultaneous:

Ifobject1andobject2areconsideredtobeinthesamesystem,thenthenetforceonthesystemduetothe
interactionsbetweenobjects1and2iszerosince

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

5/25

Thismeansthatinaclosedsystemofparticles,therearenointernalforcesthatareunbalanced.Thatis,the
actionreactionforcesharedbetweenanytwoobjectsinaclosedsystemwillnotcausethecenterofmassofthe
systemtoaccelerate.Theconstituentobjectsonlyacceleratewithrespecttoeachother,thesystemitselfremains
unaccelerated.Alternatively,ifanexternalforceactsonthesystem,thenthecenterofmasswillexperiencean
accelerationproportionaltothemagnitudeoftheexternalforcedividedbythemassofthesystem.[4]:191[5]
CombiningNewton'sSecondandThirdLaws,itispossibletoshowthatthelinearmomentumofasystemis
conserved.Using

andintegratingwithrespecttotime,theequation:

isobtained.Forasystemwhichincludesobjects1and2,

whichistheconservationoflinearmomentum.[17]Usingthesimilararguments,itispossibletogeneralizethisto
asystemofanarbitrarynumberofparticles.Thisshowsthatexchangingmomentumbetweenconstituentobjects
willnotaffectthenetmomentumofasystem.Ingeneral,aslongasallforcesareduetotheinteractionofobjects
withmass,itispossibletodefineasystemsuchthatnetmomentumisneverlostnorgained.[4][5]

Specialtheoryofrelativity
Inthespecialtheoryofrelativity,massandenergyareequivalent(ascanbeseenbycalculatingthework
requiredtoaccelerateanobject).Whenanobject'svelocityincreases,sodoesitsenergyandhenceitsmass
equivalent(inertia).Itthusrequiresmoreforcetoaccelerateitthesameamountthanitdidatalowervelocity.
Newton'sSecondLaw

remainsvalidbecauseitisamathematicaldefinition.[18]:855876Butinordertobeconserved,relativistic
momentummustberedefinedas:

where
isthevelocityand
isthespeedoflight
istherestmass.
Therelativisticexpressionrelatingforceandaccelerationforaparticlewithconstantnonzerorestmassmoving
inthe directionis:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

6/25

wheretheLorentzfactor
[19]

Intheearlyhistoryofrelativity,theexpressions
andwerecalledlongitudinalandtransversemass.
Relativisticforcedoesnotproduceaconstantacceleration,butaneverdecreasingaccelerationastheobject
approachesthespeedoflight.Notethatisundefinedforanobjectwithanonzerorestmassatthespeedoflight,
andthetheoryyieldsnopredictionatthatspeed.
Ifisverysmallcomparedto ,thenisverycloseto1and

isacloseapproximation.Evenforuseinrelativity,however,onecanrestoretheformof

throughtheuseoffourvectors.Thisrelationiscorrectinrelativitywhen
mass,andisthefouracceleration.[20]

isthefourforce,istheinvariant

Descriptions
Sinceforcesareperceivedaspushesorpulls,thiscanprovideanintuitive
understandingfordescribingforces.[3]Aswithotherphysicalconcepts
(e.g.temperature),theintuitiveunderstandingofforcesisquantified
usingpreciseoperationaldefinitionsthatareconsistentwithdirect
observationsandcomparedtoastandardmeasurementscale.Through
experimentation,itisdeterminedthatlaboratorymeasurementsofforces
arefullyconsistentwiththeconceptualdefinitionofforceofferedby
Newtonianmechanics.
Forcesactinaparticulardirectionandhavesizesdependentuponhow
strongthepushorpullis.Becauseofthesecharacteristics,forcesare
classifiedas"vectorquantities".Thismeansthatforcesfollowadifferent
setofmathematicalrulesthanphysicalquantitiesthatdonothave
direction(denotedscalarquantities).Forexample,whendetermining
whathappenswhentwoforcesactonthesameobject,itisnecessaryto
knowboththemagnitudeandthedirectionofbothforcestocalculatethe
result.Ifbothofthesepiecesofinformationarenotknownforeachforce,
thesituationisambiguous.Forexample,ifyouknowthattwopeopleare
Diagramsofablockonaflatsurface
pullingonthesameropewithknownmagnitudesofforcebutyoudonot
andaninclinedplane.Forcesare
knowwhichdirectioneitherpersonispulling,itisimpossibleto
resolvedandaddedtogetherto
determinewhattheaccelerationoftheropewillbe.Thetwopeoplecould
determinetheirmagnitudesandthe
bepullingagainsteachotherasintugofwarorthetwopeoplecouldbe
netforce.
pullinginthesamedirection.Inthissimpleonedimensionalexample,
withoutknowingthedirectionoftheforcesitisimpossibletodecide
whetherthenetforceistheresultofaddingthetwoforcemagnitudesorsubtractingonefromtheother.
Associatingforceswithvectorsavoidssuchproblems.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

7/25

Historically,forceswerefirstquantitativelyinvestigatedinconditionsofstaticequilibriumwhereseveralforces
canceledeachotherout.Suchexperimentsdemonstratethecrucialpropertiesthatforcesareadditivevector
quantities:theyhavemagnitudeanddirection.[3]Whentwoforcesactonapointparticle,theresultingforce,the
resultant(alsocalledthenetforce),canbedeterminedbyfollowingtheparallelogramruleofvectoraddition:the
additionoftwovectorsrepresentedbysidesofaparallelogram,givesanequivalentresultantvectorwhichis
equalinmagnitudeanddirectiontothetransversaloftheparallelogram.[4][5]Themagnitudeoftheresultant
variesfromthedifferenceofthemagnitudesofthetwoforcestotheirsum,dependingontheanglebetweentheir
linesofaction.However,iftheforcesareactingonanextendedbody,theirrespectivelinesofapplicationmust
alsobespecifiedinordertoaccountfortheireffectsonthemotionofthebody.
Freebodydiagramscanbeusedasaconvenientwaytokeeptrackofforcesactingonasystem.Ideally,these
diagramsaredrawnwiththeanglesandrelativemagnitudesoftheforcevectorspreservedsothatgraphical
vectoradditioncanbedonetodeterminethenetforce.[21]
Aswellasbeingadded,forcescanalsoberesolvedintoindependentcomponentsatrightanglestoeachother.A
horizontalforcepointingnortheastcanthereforebesplitintotwoforces,onepointingnorth,andonepointing
east.Summingthesecomponentforcesusingvectoradditionyieldstheoriginalforce.Resolvingforcevectors
intocomponentsofasetofbasisvectorsisoftenamoremathematicallycleanwaytodescribeforcesthanusing
magnitudesanddirections.[22]Thisisbecause,fororthogonalcomponents,thecomponentsofthevectorsumare
uniquelydeterminedbythescalaradditionofthecomponentsoftheindividualvectors.Orthogonalcomponents
areindependentofeachotherbecauseforcesactingatninetydegreestoeachotherhavenoeffectonthe
magnitudeordirectionoftheother.Choosingasetoforthogonalbasisvectorsisoftendonebyconsideringwhat
setofbasisvectorswillmakethemathematicsmostconvenient.Choosingabasisvectorthatisinthesame
directionasoneoftheforcesisdesirable,sincethatforcewouldthenhaveonlyonenonzerocomponent.
Orthogonalforcevectorscanbethreedimensionalwiththethirdcomponentbeingatrightanglestotheother
two.[4][5]

Equilibrium
Equilibriumoccurswhentheresultantforceactingonapointparticleiszero(thatis,thevectorsumofallforces
iszero).Whendealingwithanextendedbody,itisalsonecessarythatthenettorqueinitis0.
Therearetwokindsofequilibrium:staticequilibriumanddynamicequilibrium.
Static
Staticequilibriumwasunderstoodwellbeforetheinventionofclassicalmechanics.Objectswhichareatrest
havezeronetforceactingonthem.[23]
Thesimplestcaseofstaticequilibriumoccurswhentwoforcesareequalinmagnitudebutoppositeindirection.
Forexample,anobjectonalevelsurfaceispulled(attracted)downwardtowardthecenteroftheEarthbythe
forceofgravity.Atthesametime,surfaceforcesresistthedownwardforcewithequalupwardforce(calledthe
normalforce).Thesituationisoneofzeronetforceandnoacceleration.[3]
Pushingagainstanobjectonafrictionalsurfacecanresultinasituationwheretheobjectdoesnotmovebecause
theappliedforceisopposedbystaticfriction,generatedbetweentheobjectandthetablesurface.Forasituation
withnomovement,thestaticfrictionforceexactlybalancestheappliedforceresultinginnoacceleration.The
staticfrictionincreasesordecreasesinresponsetotheappliedforceuptoanupperlimitdeterminedbythe
characteristicsofthecontactbetweenthesurfaceandtheobject.[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

8/25

Astaticequilibriumbetweentwoforcesisthemostusualwayofmeasuringforces,usingsimpledevicessuchas
weighingscalesandspringbalances.Forexample,anobjectsuspendedonaverticalspringscaleexperiencesthe
forceofgravityactingontheobjectbalancedbyaforceappliedbythe"springreactionforce"whichequalsthe
object'sweight.Usingsuchtools,somequantitativeforcelawswerediscovered:thattheforceofgravityis
proportionaltovolumeforobjectsofconstantdensity(widelyexploitedformillenniatodefinestandard
weights)Archimedes'principleforbuoyancyArchimedes'analysisoftheleverBoyle'slawforgaspressure
andHooke'slawforsprings.ThesewereallformulatedandexperimentallyverifiedbeforeIsaacNewton
expoundedhisThreeLawsofMotion.[3][4][5]
Dynamic
DynamicequilibriumwasfirstdescribedbyGalileowhonoticedthat
certainassumptionsofAristotelianphysicswerecontradictedby
observationsandlogic.Galileorealizedthatsimplevelocityaddition
demandsthattheconceptofan"absoluterestframe"didnotexist.Galileo
concludedthatmotioninaconstantvelocitywascompletelyequivalentto
rest.ThiswascontrarytoAristotle'snotionofa"naturalstate"ofrestthat
objectswithmassnaturallyapproached.Simpleexperimentsshowedthat
Galileo'sunderstandingoftheequivalenceofconstantvelocityandrest
werecorrect.Forexample,ifamarinerdroppedacannonballfromthe
crow'snestofashipmovingataconstantvelocity,Aristotelianphysics
wouldhavethecannonballfallstraightdownwhiletheshipmoved
beneathit.Thus,inanAristotelianuniverse,thefallingcannonballwould
landbehindthefootofthemastofamovingship.However,whenthis
experimentisactuallyconducted,thecannonballalwaysfallsatthefoot
ofthemast,asifthecannonballknowstotravelwiththeshipdespite
beingseparatedfromit.Sincethereisnoforwardhorizontalforcebeing
appliedonthecannonballasitfalls,theonlyconclusionleftisthatthe
cannonballcontinuestomovewiththesamevelocityastheboatasit
falls.Thus,noforceisrequiredtokeepthecannonballmovingatthe
constantforwardvelocity.[9]

GalileoGalileiwasthefirsttopoint
outtheinherentcontradictions
containedinAristotle'sdescriptionof
forces.

Moreover,anyobjecttravelingataconstantvelocitymustbesubjecttozeronetforce(resultantforce).Thisis
thedefinitionofdynamicequilibrium:whenalltheforcesonanobjectbalancebutitstillmovesataconstant
velocity.
Asimplecaseofdynamicequilibriumoccursinconstantvelocitymotionacrossasurfacewithkineticfriction.In
suchasituation,aforceisappliedinthedirectionofmotionwhilethekineticfrictionforceexactlyopposesthe
appliedforce.Thisresultsinzeronetforce,butsincetheobjectstartedwithanonzerovelocity,itcontinuesto
movewithanonzerovelocity.Aristotlemisinterpretedthismotionasbeingcausedbytheappliedforce.
However,whenkineticfrictionistakenintoconsiderationitisclearthatthereisnonetforcecausingconstant
velocitymotion.[4][5]

ForcesinQuantumMechanics
Thenotion"force"keepsitsmeaninginquantummechanics,thoughoneisnowdealingwithoperatorsinsteadof
classicalvariablesandthoughthephysicsisnowdescribedbytheSchrdingerequationinsteadofNewtonian
equations.Thishastheconsequencethattheresultsofameasurementarenowsometimes"quantized",i.e.they
appearindiscreteportions.Thisis,ofcourse,difficulttoimagineinthecontextof"forces".However,the
potentialsV(x,y,z)orfields,fromwhichtheforcesgenerallycanbederived,aretreatedsimilartoclassical
positionvariables,i.e.,.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

9/25

Thisbecomesdifferentonlyintheframeworkofquantumfieldtheory,wherethesefieldsarealsoquantized.
However,alreadyinquantummechanicsthereisone"caveat",namelytheparticlesactingontoeachotherdonot
onlypossessthespatialvariable,butalsoadiscreteintrinsicangularmomentumlikevariablecalledthe"spin",
andthereisthePauliprinciplerelatingthespaceandthespinvariables.Dependingonthevalueofthespin,
identicalparticlessplitintotwodifferentclasses,fermionsandbosons.Iftwoidenticalfermions(e.g.electrons)
haveasymmetricspinfunction(e.g.parallelspins)thespatialvariablesmustbeantisymmetric(i.e.theforce
mustberepulsive),andviceversa,i.e.forantiparallelspinsthepositionvariablesmustbesymmetric(i.e.the
forcemustbeattractive).Thusinthecaseoftwofermionsthereisastrictlynegativecorrelationbetweenspatial
andspinvariables,whereasfortwobosons(e.g.quantaofelectromagneticwaves,photons)thecorrelationis
strictlypositive.
Thusthenotion"force"losesalreadypartofitsmeaning.

Feynmandiagrams
Inmodernparticlephysics,forcesandtheaccelerationofparticlesare
explainedasamathematicalbyproductofexchangeofmomentum
carryinggaugebosons.Withthedevelopmentofquantumfieldtheory
andgeneralrelativity,itwasrealizedthatforceisaredundantconcept
arisingfromconservationofmomentum(4momentuminrelativityand
momentumofvirtualparticlesinquantumelectrodynamics).The
conservationofmomentumcanbedirectlyderivedfromthehomogeneity
orsymmetryofspaceandsoisusuallyconsideredmorefundamentalthan
theconceptofaforce.Thusthecurrentlyknownfundamentalforcesare
consideredmoreaccuratelytobe"fundamentalinteractions".[6]:199128
WhenparticleAemits(creates)orabsorbs(annihilates)virtualparticleB,
amomentumconservationresultsinrecoilofparticleAmaking
impressionofrepulsionorattractionbetweenparticlesAA'exchanging
Feynmandiagramforthedecayofa
byB.Thisdescriptionappliestoallforcesarisingfromfundamental
neutronintoaproton.TheWboson
interactions.Whilesophisticatedmathematicaldescriptionsareneededto
isbetweentwoverticesindicatinga
predict,infulldetail,theaccurateresultofsuchinteractions,thereisa
repulsion.
conceptuallysimplewaytodescribesuchinteractionsthroughtheuseof
Feynmandiagrams.InaFeynmandiagram,eachmatterparticleis
representedasastraightline(seeworldline)travelingthroughtimewhichnormallyincreasesuportotheright
inthediagram.Matterandantimatterparticlesareidenticalexceptfortheirdirectionofpropagationthroughthe
Feynmandiagram.Worldlinesofparticlesintersectatinteractionvertices,andtheFeynmandiagramrepresents
anyforcearisingfromaninteractionasoccurringatthevertexwithanassociatedinstantaneouschangeinthe
directionoftheparticleworldlines.Gaugebosonsareemittedawayfromthevertexaswavylinesand,inthe
caseofvirtualparticleexchange,areabsorbedatanadjacentvertex.[24]
TheutilityofFeynmandiagramsisthatothertypesofphysicalphenomenathatarepartofthegeneralpictureof
fundamentalinteractionsbutareconceptuallyseparatefromforcescanalsobedescribedusingthesamerules.
Forexample,aFeynmandiagramcandescribeinsuccinctdetailhowaneutrondecaysintoanelectron,proton,
andneutrino,aninteractionmediatedbythesamegaugebosonthatisresponsiblefortheweaknuclearforce.[24]

Fundamentalforces
Alloftheforcesintheuniversearebasedonfourfundamentalinteractions.Thestrongandweakforcesare
nuclearforcesthatactonlyatveryshortdistances,andareresponsiblefortheinteractionsbetweensubatomic
particles,includingnucleonsandcompoundnuclei.Theelectromagneticforceactsbetweenelectriccharges,and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

10/25

thegravitationalforceactsbetweenmasses.Allotherforcesinnaturederivefromthesefourfundamental
interactions.Forexample,frictionisamanifestationoftheelectromagneticforceactingbetweentheatomsof
twosurfaces,andthePauliexclusionprinciple,[25]whichdoesnotpermitatomstopassthrougheachother.
Similarly,theforcesinsprings,modeledbyHooke'slaw,aretheresultofelectromagneticforcesandthe
ExclusionPrincipleactingtogethertoreturnanobjecttoitsequilibriumposition.Centrifugalforcesare
accelerationforceswhicharisesimplyfromtheaccelerationofrotatingframesofreference.[4]:1211[5]:359
Thedevelopmentoffundamentaltheoriesforforcesproceededalongthelinesofunificationofdisparateideas.
Forexample,IsaacNewtonunifiedtheforceresponsibleforobjectsfallingatthesurfaceoftheEarthwiththe
forceresponsiblefortheorbitsofcelestialmechanicsinhisuniversaltheoryofgravitation.MichaelFaradayand
JamesClerkMaxwelldemonstratedthatelectricandmagneticforceswereunifiedthroughoneconsistenttheory
ofelectromagnetism.Inthe20thcentury,thedevelopmentofquantummechanicsledtoamodernunderstanding
thatthefirstthreefundamentalforces(allexceptgravity)aremanifestationsofmatter(fermions)interactingby
exchangingvirtualparticlescalledgaugebosons.[26]Thisstandardmodelofparticlephysicspositsasimilarity
betweentheforcesandledscientiststopredicttheunificationoftheweakandelectromagneticforcesin
electroweaktheorysubsequentlyconfirmedbyobservation.Thecompleteformulationofthestandardmodel
predictsanasyetunobservedHiggsmechanism,butobservationssuchasneutrinooscillationsindicatethatthe
standardmodelisincomplete.AGrandUnifiedTheoryallowingforthecombinationoftheelectroweak
interactionwiththestrongforceisheldoutasapossibilitywithcandidatetheoriessuchassupersymmetry
proposedtoaccommodatesomeoftheoutstandingunsolvedproblemsinphysics.Physicistsarestillattempting
todevelopselfconsistentunificationmodelsthatwouldcombineallfourfundamentalinteractionsintoatheory
ofeverything.Einsteintriedandfailedatthisendeavor,butcurrentlythemostpopularapproachtoanswering
thisquestionisstringtheory.[6]:212219

Property/Interaction

Thefourfundamentalforcesofnature[27]
Weak
Electromagnetic
Gravitation
(Electroweak)

Strong
Fundamental

Residual

Mass
Energy

Flavor

Electriccharge

Colorcharge

Atomic
nuclei

All

Quarks,
leptons

Electrically
charged

Quarks,
Gluons

Hadrons

(notyet
observed)

W+WZ0

Gluons

Mesons

Strengthinthescaleof
quarks:

1041

104

60

Notapplicable
toquarks

Strengthinthescaleof
protons/neutrons:

1036

107

Notapplicable
tohadrons

20

Actson:
Particlesexperiencing:

Graviton
Particlesmediating:

Gravitational
WhatwenowcallgravitywasnotidentifiedasauniversalforceuntiltheworkofIsaacNewton.BeforeNewton,
thetendencyforobjectstofalltowardstheEarthwasnotunderstoodtoberelatedtothemotionsofcelestial
objects.Galileowasinstrumentalindescribingthecharacteristicsoffallingobjectsbydeterminingthatthe
accelerationofeveryobjectinfreefallwasconstantandindependentofthemassoftheobject.Today,this
accelerationduetogravitytowardsthesurfaceoftheEarthisusuallydesignatedasandhasamagnitudeof
about9.81meterspersecondsquared(thismeasurementistakenfromsealevelandmayvarydependingon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

11/25

location),andpointstowardthecenteroftheEarth.[28]Thisobservationmeansthattheforceofgravityonan
objectattheEarth'ssurfaceisdirectlyproportionaltotheobject'smass.Thusanobjectthathasamassofwill
experienceaforce:

Infreefall,thisforceisunopposedandthereforethenetforceontheobjectisitsweight.Forobjectsnotinfree
fall,theforceofgravityisopposedbythereactionsoftheirsupports.Forexample,apersonstandingonthe
groundexperienceszeronetforce,sincehisweightisbalancedbyanormalforce
exertedbytheground.[4][5]
Newton'scontributiontogravitationaltheorywastounifythemotionsof
heavenlybodies,whichAristotlehadassumedwereinanaturalstateofconstant
motion,withfallingmotionobservedontheEarth.Heproposedalawofgravity
thatcouldaccountforthecelestialmotionsthathadbeendescribedearlierusing
Kepler'slawsofplanetarymotion.[29]
Newtoncametorealizethattheeffectsofgravitymightbeobservedindifferent
waysatlargerdistances.Inparticular,Newtondeterminedthattheaccelerationof
theMoonaroundtheEarthcouldbeascribedtothesameforceofgravityifthe
accelerationduetogravitydecreasedasaninversesquarelaw.Further,Newton
realizedthattheaccelerationduetogravityisproportionaltothemassofthe
attractingbody.[29]Combiningtheseideasgivesaformulathatrelatesthemass()
andtheradius()oftheEarthtothegravitationalacceleration:

wherethevectordirectionisgivenby,theunitvectordirectedoutwardfromthe
centeroftheEarth.[10]
Inthisequation,adimensionalconstantisusedtodescribetherelativestrength
ofgravity.ThisconstanthascometobeknownasNewton'sUniversal
GravitationConstant,[30]thoughitsvaluewasunknowninNewton'slifetime.Not
until1798wasHenryCavendishabletomakethefirstmeasurementofusinga
torsionbalancethiswaswidelyreportedinthepressasameasurementofthe
massoftheEarthsinceknowingcouldallowonetosolvefortheEarth'smass
giventheaboveequation.Newton,however,realizedthatsinceallcelestial
bodiesfollowedthesamelawsofmotion,hislawofgravityhadtobeuniversal.
Succinctlystated,Newton'sLawofGravitationstatesthattheforceonaspherical
objectofmassduetothegravitationalpullofmassis

where isthedistancebetweenthetwoobjects'centersofmassandistheunit
vectorpointedinthedirectionawayfromthecenterofthefirstobjecttowardthe
centerofthesecondobject.[10]
Thisformulawaspowerfulenoughtostandasthebasisforallsubsequent
descriptionsofmotionwithinthesolarsystemuntilthe20thcentury.Duringthat
time,sophisticatedmethodsofperturbationanalysis[31]wereinventedtocalculate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

Imagesofafreelyfalling
basketballtakenwitha
stroboscopeat20flashesper
second.Thedistanceunitson
therightaremultiplesof
about12millimetres.The
basketballstartsatrest.At
thetimeofthefirstflash
(distancezero)itisreleased,
afterwhichthenumberof
unitsfallenisequaltothe
squareofthenumberof
flashes.
12/25

thedeviationsoforbitsduetotheinfluenceofmultiplebodiesonaplanet,moon,
comet,orasteroid.Theformalismwasexactenoughtoallowmathematicianstopredicttheexistenceofthe
planetNeptunebeforeitwasobserved.[32]
ItwasonlytheorbitoftheplanetMercurythatNewton'sLawofGravitationseemednottofullyexplain.Some
astrophysicistspredictedtheexistenceofanotherplanet(Vulcan)thatwouldexplainthediscrepancieshowever,
despitesomeearlyindications,nosuchplanetcouldbefound.WhenAlbertEinsteinformulatedhistheoryof
generalrelativity(GR)heturnedhisattentiontotheproblemofMercury'sorbitandfoundthathistheoryaddeda
correctionwhichcouldaccountforthediscrepancy.ThiswasthefirsttimethatNewton'sTheoryofGravityhad
beenshowntobelesscorrectthananalternative.[33]
Sincethen,andsofar,generalrelativityhasbeenacknowledgedasthetheorywhichbestexplainsgravity.InGR,
gravitationisnotviewedasaforce,butrather,objectsmovingfreelyingravitationalfieldstravelundertheirown
inertiainstraightlinesthroughcurvedspacetimedefinedastheshortestspacetimepathbetweentwospace
timeevents.Fromtheperspectiveoftheobject,allmotionoccursasiftherewerenogravitationwhatsoever.Itis
onlywhenobservingthemotioninaglobalsensethatthecurvatureofspacetimecanbeobservedandtheforce
isinferredfromtheobject'scurvedpath.Thus,thestraightlinepathinspacetimeisseenasacurvedlinein
space,anditiscalledtheballistictrajectoryoftheobject.Forexample,abasketballthrownfromtheground
movesinaparabola,asitisinauniformgravitationalfield.Itsspacetimetrajectory(whentheextract
dimensionisadded)isalmostastraightline,slightlycurved(withtheradiusofcurvatureoftheorderoffew
lightyears).Thetimederivativeofthechangingmomentumoftheobjectiswhatwelabelas"gravitational
force".[5]

Electromagnetic
Theelectrostaticforcewasfirstdescribedin1784byCoulombasaforcewhichexistedintrinsicallybetweentwo
charges.[18]:519Thepropertiesoftheelectrostaticforcewerethatitvariedasaninversesquarelawdirectedinthe
radialdirection,wasbothattractiveandrepulsive(therewasintrinsicpolarity),wasindependentofthemassof
thechargedobjects,andfollowedthesuperpositionprinciple.Coulomb'slawunifiesalltheseobservationsinto
onesuccinctstatement.[34]
Subsequentmathematiciansandphysicistsfoundtheconstructoftheelectricfieldtobeusefulfordetermining
theelectrostaticforceonanelectricchargeatanypointinspace.Theelectricfieldwasbasedonusinga
hypothetical"testcharge"anywhereinspaceandthenusingCoulomb'sLawtodeterminetheelectrostatic
force.[35]:46to48Thustheelectricfieldanywhereinspaceisdefinedas

whereisthemagnitudeofthehypotheticaltestcharge.
Meanwhile,theLorentzforceofmagnetismwasdiscoveredtoexistbetweentwoelectriccurrents.Ithasthe
samemathematicalcharacterasCoulomb'sLawwiththeprovisothatlikecurrentsattractandunlikecurrents
repel.Similartotheelectricfield,themagneticfieldcanbeusedtodeterminethemagneticforceonanelectric
currentatanypointinspace.Inthiscase,themagnitudeofthemagneticfieldwasdeterminedtobe

whereisthemagnitudeofthehypotheticaltestcurrentand isthelengthofhypotheticalwirethroughwhichthe
testcurrentflows.Themagneticfieldexertsaforceonallmagnetsincluding,forexample,thoseusedin
compasses.ThefactthattheEarth'smagneticfieldisalignedcloselywiththeorientationoftheEarth'saxis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

13/25

causescompassmagnetstobecomeorientedbecauseofthemagneticforcepullingontheneedle.
Throughcombiningthedefinitionofelectriccurrentasthetimerateofchangeofelectriccharge,aruleofvector
multiplicationcalledLorentz'sLawdescribestheforceonachargemovinginamagneticfield.[35]The
connectionbetweenelectricityandmagnetismallowsforthedescriptionofaunifiedelectromagneticforcethat
actsonacharge.Thisforcecanbewrittenasasumoftheelectrostaticforce(duetotheelectricfield)andthe
magneticforce(duetothemagneticfield).Fullystated,thisisthelaw:

whereistheelectromagneticforce,isthemagnitudeofthechargeoftheparticle, istheelectricfield,isthe
velocityoftheparticlewhichiscrossedwiththemagneticfield().
Theoriginofelectricandmagneticfieldswouldnotbefullyexplaineduntil1864whenJamesClerkMaxwell
unifiedanumberofearliertheoriesintoasetof20scalarequations,whichwerelaterreformulatedinto4vector
equationsbyOliverHeavisideandJosiahWillardGibbs.[36]These"MaxwellEquations"fullydescribedthe
sourcesofthefieldsasbeingstationaryandmovingcharges,andtheinteractionsofthefieldsthemselves.This
ledMaxwelltodiscoverthatelectricandmagneticfieldscouldbe"selfgenerating"throughawavethattraveled
ataspeedwhichhecalculatedtobethespeedoflight.Thisinsightunitedthenascentfieldsofelectromagnetic
theorywithopticsandleddirectlytoacompletedescriptionoftheelectromagneticspectrum.[37]
However,attemptingtoreconcileelectromagnetictheorywithtwoobservations,thephotoelectriceffect,andthe
nonexistenceoftheultravioletcatastrophe,provedtroublesome.Throughtheworkofleadingtheoretical
physicists,anewtheoryofelectromagnetismwasdevelopedusingquantummechanics.Thisfinalmodification
toelectromagnetictheoryultimatelyledtoquantumelectrodynamics(orQED),whichfullydescribesall
electromagneticphenomenaasbeingmediatedbywaveparticlesknownasphotons.InQED,photonsarethe
fundamentalexchangeparticlewhichdescribedallinteractionsrelatingtoelectromagnetismincludingthe
electromagneticforce.[Note4]
Itisacommonmisconceptiontoascribethestiffnessandrigidityofsolidmattertotherepulsionoflikecharges
undertheinfluenceoftheelectromagneticforce.However,thesecharacteristicsactuallyresultfromthePauli
exclusionprinciple.Sinceelectronsarefermions,theycannotoccupythesamequantummechanicalstateas
otherelectrons.Whentheelectronsinamaterialaredenselypackedtogether,therearenotenoughlowerenergy
quantummechanicalstatesforthemall,sosomeofthemmustbeinhigherenergystates.Thismeansthatittakes
energytopackthemtogether.Whilethiseffectismanifestedmacroscopicallyasastructuralforce,itis
technicallyonlytheresultoftheexistenceofafinitesetofelectronstates.

Nuclear
Therearetwo"nuclearforces"whichtodayareusuallydescribedasinteractionsthattakeplaceinquantum
theoriesofparticlephysics.Thestrongnuclearforce[18]:940istheforceresponsibleforthestructuralintegrityof
atomicnucleiwhiletheweaknuclearforce[18]:951isresponsibleforthedecayofcertainnucleonsintoleptons
andothertypesofhadrons.[4][5]
Thestrongforceistodayunderstoodtorepresenttheinteractionsbetweenquarksandgluonsasdetailedbythe
theoryofquantumchromodynamics(QCD).[38]Thestrongforceisthefundamentalforcemediatedbygluons,
actinguponquarks,antiquarks,andthegluonsthemselves.The(aptlynamed)stronginteractionisthe
"strongest"ofthefourfundamentalforces.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

14/25

Thestrongforceonlyactsdirectlyuponelementaryparticles.However,aresidualoftheforceisobserved
betweenhadrons(thebestknownexamplebeingtheforcethatactsbetweennucleonsinatomicnuclei)asthe
nuclearforce.Herethestrongforceactsindirectly,transmittedasgluonswhichformpartofthevirtualpiand
rhomesonswhichclassicallytransmitthenuclearforce(seethistopicformore).Thefailureofmanysearches
forfreequarkshasshownthattheelementaryparticlesaffectedarenotdirectlyobservable.Thisphenomenonis
calledcolorconfinement.
TheweakforceisduetotheexchangeoftheheavyWandZbosons.Itsmostfamiliareffectisbetadecay(of
neutronsinatomicnuclei)andtheassociatedradioactivity.Theword"weak"derivesfromthefactthatthefield
strengthissome1013timeslessthanthatofthestrongforce.Still,itisstrongerthangravityovershortdistances.
Aconsistentelectroweaktheoryhasalsobeendevelopedwhichshowsthatelectromagneticforcesandtheweak
forceareindistinguishableatatemperaturesinexcessofapproximately1015kelvins.Suchtemperatureshave
beenprobedinmodernparticleacceleratorsandshowtheconditionsoftheuniverseintheearlymomentsofthe
BigBang.

Nonfundamentalforces
Someforcesareconsequencesofthefundamentalones.Insuchsituations,idealizedmodelscanbeutilizedto
gainphysicalinsight.

Normalforce
Thenormalforceisduetorepulsiveforcesofinteractionbetweenatoms
atclosecontact.Whentheirelectroncloudsoverlap,Paulirepulsion(due
tofermionicnatureofelectrons)followsresultingintheforcewhichacts
inadirectionnormaltothesurfaceinterfacebetweentwoobjects.[18]:93
Thenormalforce,forexample,isresponsibleforthestructuralintegrity
oftablesandfloorsaswellasbeingtheforcethatrespondswheneveran
externalforcepushesonasolidobject.Anexampleofthenormalforcein
actionistheimpactforceonanobjectcrashingintoanimmobile
surface.[4][5]

FN representsthenormalforce
exertedontheobject.

Friction
Frictionisasurfaceforcethatopposesrelativemotion.Thefrictionalforceisdirectlyrelatedtothenormalforce
whichactstokeeptwosolidobjectsseparatedatthepointofcontact.Therearetwobroadclassificationsof
frictionalforces:staticfrictionandkineticfriction.
Thestaticfrictionforce()willexactlyopposeforcesappliedtoanobjectparalleltoasurfacecontactuptothe
limitspecifiedbythecoefficientofstaticfriction( )multipliedbythenormalforce().Inotherwordsthe
magnitudeofthestaticfrictionforcesatisfiestheinequality:
.
Thekineticfrictionforce()isindependentofboththeforcesappliedandthemovementoftheobject.Thus,the
magnitudeoftheforceequals:
,
whereisthecoefficientofkineticfriction.Formostsurfaceinterfaces,thecoefficientofkineticfrictionisless
thanthecoefficientofstaticfriction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

15/25

Tension
Tensionforcescanbemodeledusingidealstringswhicharemassless,frictionless,unbreakable,and
unstretchable.Theycanbecombinedwithidealpulleyswhichallowidealstringstoswitchphysicaldirection.
Idealstringstransmittensionforcesinstantaneouslyinactionreactionpairssothatiftwoobjectsareconnected
byanidealstring,anyforcedirectedalongthestringbythefirstobjectisaccompaniedbyaforcedirectedalong
thestringintheoppositedirectionbythesecondobject.[39]Byconnectingthesamestringmultipletimestothe
sameobjectthroughtheuseofasetupthatusesmovablepulleys,thetensionforceonaloadcanbemultiplied.
Foreverystringthatactsonaload,anotherfactorofthetensionforceinthestringactsontheload.However,
eventhoughsuchmachinesallowforanincreaseinforce,thereisacorrespondingincreaseinthelengthofstring
thatmustbedisplacedinordertomovetheload.Thesetandemeffectsresultultimatelyintheconservationof
mechanicalenergysincetheworkdoneontheloadisthesamenomatterhowcomplicatedthemachine.[4][5][40]

Elasticforce
Anelasticforceactstoreturnaspringtoitsnaturallength.Anidealspringis
takentobemassless,frictionless,unbreakable,andinfinitelystretchable.Such
springsexertforcesthatpushwhencontracted,orpullwhenextended,in
proportiontothedisplacementofthespringfromitsequilibriumposition.[41]
ThislinearrelationshipwasdescribedbyRobertHookein1676,forwhom
Hooke'slawisnamed.Ifisthedisplacement,theforceexertedbyanidealspring
equals:

whereisthespringconstant(orforceconstant),whichisparticulartothespring.
Theminussignaccountsforthetendencyoftheforcetoactinoppositiontothe
appliedload.[4][5]

Continuummechanics
Fkistheforcethatresponds

Newton'slawsandNewtonianmechanicsingeneralwerefirstdevelopedto
totheloadonthespring
describehowforcesaffectidealizedpointparticlesratherthanthreedimensional
objects.However,inreallife,matterhasextendedstructureandforcesthatacton
onepartofanobjectmightaffectotherpartsofanobject.Forsituationswherelatticeholdingtogethertheatoms
inanobjectisabletoflow,contract,expand,orotherwisechangeshape,thetheoriesofcontinuummechanics
describethewayforcesaffectthematerial.Forexample,inextendedfluids,differencesinpressureresultin
forcesbeingdirectedalongthepressuregradientsasfollows:

whereisthevolumeoftheobjectinthefluidand isthescalarfunctionthatdescribesthepressureatall
locationsinspace.Pressuregradientsanddifferentialsresultinthebuoyantforceforfluidssuspendedin
gravitationalfields,windsinatmosphericscience,andtheliftassociatedwithaerodynamicsandflight.[4][5]
Aspecificinstanceofsuchaforcethatisassociatedwithdynamicpressureisfluidresistance:abodyforcethat
resiststhemotionofanobjectthroughafluidduetoviscosity.Forsocalled"Stokes'drag"theforceis
approximatelyproportionaltothevelocity,butoppositeindirection:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

16/25

where:
isaconstantthatdependsonthepropertiesofthefluidandthedimensions
oftheobject(usuallythecrosssectionalarea),and
isthevelocityoftheobject.[4][5]
Moreformally,forcesincontinuummechanicsarefullydescribedbya
stresstensorwithtermsthatareroughlydefinedas

whereistherelevantcrosssectionalareaforthevolumeforwhichthestress
tensorisbeingcalculated.Thisformalismincludespressuretermsassociatedwith
forcesthatactnormaltothecrosssectionalarea(thematrixdiagonalsofthe
tensor)aswellassheartermsassociatedwithforcesthatactparalleltothecross
sectionalarea(theoffdiagonalelements).Thestresstensoraccountsforforces
thatcauseallstrains(deformations)includingalsotensilestressesand
compressions.[3][5]:133134[35]:3813811

Fictitiousforces

Whenthedragforce(
)
associatedwithairresistance
becomesequalinmagnitude
totheforceofgravityona
fallingobject( ),the
objectreachesastateof
dynamicequilibriumat
terminalvelocity.

Thereareforceswhichareframedependent,meaningthattheyappearduetotheadoptionofnonNewtonian
(thatis,noninertial)referenceframes.SuchforcesincludethecentrifugalforceandtheCoriolisforce.[42]These
forcesareconsideredfictitiousbecausetheydonotexistinframesofreferencethatarenotaccelerating.[4][5]
Becausetheseforcesarenotgenuinetheyarealsoreferredtoas"pseudoforces".[4]:1211
Ingeneralrelativity,gravitybecomesafictitiousforcethatarisesinsituationswherespacetimedeviatesfroma
flatgeometry.Asanextension,KaluzaKleintheoryandstringtheoryascribeelectromagnetismandtheother
fundamentalforcesrespectivelytothecurvatureofdifferentlyscaleddimensions,whichwouldultimatelyimply
thatallforcesarefictitious.

Rotationsandtorque
Forcesthatcauseextendedobjectstorotateareassociatedwithtorques.
Mathematically,thetorqueofaforceisdefinedrelativetoanarbitrary
referencepointasthecrossproduct:

where
isthepositionvectoroftheforceapplicationpointrelativetothe
referencepoint.

Relationshipbetweenforce(F),
torque(),andmomentumvectors(p
andL)inarotatingsystem.

Torqueistherotationequivalentofforceinthesamewaythatangleisthe
rotationalequivalentforposition,angularvelocityforvelocity,and
angularmomentumformomentum.AsaconsequenceofNewton'sFirstLawofMotion,thereexistsrotational

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

17/25

inertiathatensuresthatallbodiesmaintaintheirangularmomentumunlessacteduponbyanunbalancedtorque.
Likewise,Newton'sSecondLawofMotioncanbeusedtoderiveananalogousequationfortheinstantaneous
angularaccelerationoftherigidbody:

where
isthemomentofinertiaofthebody
istheangularaccelerationofthebody.
Thisprovidesadefinitionforthemomentofinertiawhichistherotationalequivalentformass.Inmore
advancedtreatmentsofmechanics,wheretherotationoveratimeintervalisdescribed,themomentofinertia
mustbesubstitutedbythetensorthat,whenproperlyanalyzed,fullydeterminesthecharacteristicsofrotations
includingprecessionandnutation.
Equivalently,thedifferentialformofNewton'sSecondLawprovidesanalternativedefinitionoftorque:
[43]where

istheangularmomentumoftheparticle.

Newton'sThirdLawofMotionrequiresthatallobjectsexertingtorquesthemselvesexperienceequaland
oppositetorques,[44]andthereforealsodirectlyimpliestheconservationofangularmomentumforclosed
systemsthatexperiencerotationsandrevolutionsthroughtheactionofinternaltorques.

Centripetalforce
Foranobjectacceleratingincircularmotion,theunbalancedforceactingontheobjectequals:[45]

whereisthemassoftheobject,isthevelocityoftheobjectand isthedistancetothecenterofthecircular
pathandistheunitvectorpointingintheradialdirectionoutwardsfromthecenter.Thismeansthatthe
unbalancedcentripetalforcefeltbyanyobjectisalwaysdirectedtowardthecenterofthecurvingpath.Such
forcesactperpendiculartothevelocityvectorassociatedwiththemotionofanobject,andthereforedonot
changethespeedoftheobject(magnitudeofthevelocity),butonlythedirectionofthevelocityvector.The
unbalancedforcethatacceleratesanobjectcanberesolvedintoacomponentthatisperpendiculartothepath,
andonethatistangentialtothepath.Thisyieldsboththetangentialforcewhichacceleratestheobjectbyeither
slowingitdownorspeedingitupandtheradial(centripetal)forcewhichchangesitsdirection.[4][5]

Kinematicintegrals
Forcescanbeusedtodefineanumberofphysicalconceptsbyintegratingwithrespecttokinematicvariables.
Forexample,integratingwithrespecttotimegivesthedefinitionofimpulse:[46]

which,byNewton'sSecondLaw,mustbeequivalenttothechangeinmomentum(yieldingtheImpulse
momentumtheorem).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

18/25

Similarly,integratingwithrespecttopositiongivesadefinitionfortheworkdonebyaforce:[4]:133

whichisequivalenttochangesinkineticenergy(yieldingtheworkenergytheorem).[4]:133
PowerPistherateofchangedW/dtoftheworkW,asthetrajectoryisextendedbyapositionchangeinatime
intervaldt:[4]:132

with

thevelocity.

Potentialenergy
Insteadofaforce,oftenthemathematicallyrelatedconceptofapotentialenergyfieldcanbeusedfor
convenience.Forinstance,thegravitationalforceactinguponanobjectcanbeseenastheactionofthe
gravitationalfieldthatispresentattheobject'slocation.Restatingmathematicallythedefinitionofenergy(via
thedefinitionofwork),apotentialscalarfieldisdefinedasthatfieldwhosegradientisequalandoppositetothe
forceproducedateverypoint:

Forcescanbeclassifiedasconservativeornonconservative.Conservativeforcesareequivalenttothegradientof
apotentialwhilenonconservativeforcesarenot.[4][5]

Conservativeforces
Aconservativeforcethatactsonaclosedsystemhasanassociatedmechanicalworkthatallowsenergyto
convertonlybetweenkineticorpotentialforms.Thismeansthatforaclosedsystem,thenetmechanicalenergy
isconservedwheneveraconservativeforceactsonthesystem.Theforce,therefore,isrelateddirectlytothe
differenceinpotentialenergybetweentwodifferentlocationsinspace,[47]andcanbeconsideredtobeanartifact
ofthepotentialfieldinthesamewaythatthedirectionandamountofaflowofwatercanbeconsideredtobean
artifactofthecontourmapoftheelevationofanarea.[4][5]
Conservativeforcesincludegravity,theelectromagneticforce,andthespringforce.Eachoftheseforceshas
modelswhicharedependentonapositionoftengivenasaradialvectoremanatingfromsphericallysymmetric
potentials.[48]Examplesofthisfollow:
Forgravity:

whereisthegravitationalconstant,andisthemassofobjectn.
Forelectrostaticforces:

where iselectricpermittivityoffreespace,andistheelectricchargeofobjectn.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

19/25

Forspringforces:

whereisthespringconstant.[4][5]

Nonconservativeforces
Forcertainphysicalscenarios,itisimpossibletomodelforcesasbeingduetogradientofpotentials.Thisisoften
duetomacrophysicalconsiderationswhichyieldforcesasarisingfromamacroscopicstatisticalaverageof
microstates.Forexample,frictioniscausedbythegradientsofnumerouselectrostaticpotentialsbetweenthe
atoms,butmanifestsasaforcemodelwhichisindependentofanymacroscalepositionvector.Nonconservative
forcesotherthanfrictionincludeothercontactforces,tension,compression,anddrag.However,forany
sufficientlydetaileddescription,alltheseforcesaretheresultsofconservativeonessinceeachofthese
macroscopicforcesarethenetresultsofthegradientsofmicroscopicpotentials.[4][5]
Theconnectionbetweenmacroscopicnonconservativeforcesandmicroscopicconservativeforcesisdescribed
bydetailedtreatmentwithstatisticalmechanics.Inmacroscopicclosedsystems,nonconservativeforcesactto
changetheinternalenergiesofthesystem,andareoftenassociatedwiththetransferofheat.Accordingtothe
Secondlawofthermodynamics,nonconservativeforcesnecessarilyresultinenergytransformationswithin
closedsystemsfromorderedtomorerandomconditionsasentropyincreases.[4][5]

Unitsofmeasurement
TheSIunitofforceisthenewton(symbolN),whichistheforcerequiredtoaccelerateaonekilogrammassata
rateofonemeterpersecondsquared,orkgms2.[49]ThecorrespondingCGSunitisthedyne,theforce
requiredtoaccelerateaonegrammassbyonecentimeterpersecondsquared,orgcms2.Anewtonisthus
equalto100,000dynes.
ThegravitationalfootpoundsecondEnglishunitofforceisthepoundforce(lbf),definedastheforceexerted
bygravityonapoundmassinthestandardgravitationalfieldof9.80665ms2.[49]Thepoundforceprovides
analternativeunitofmass:oneslugisthemassthatwillacceleratebyonefootpersecondsquaredwhenacted
onbyonepoundforce.[49]
Analternativeunitofforceinadifferentfootpoundsecondsystem,theabsolutefpssystem,isthepoundal,
definedastheforcerequiredtoaccelerateaonepoundmassatarateofonefootpersecondsquared.[49]The
unitsofslugandpoundalaredesignedtoavoidaconstantofproportionalityinNewton'sSecondLaw.
Thepoundforcehasametriccounterpart,lesscommonlyusedthanthenewton:thekilogramforce(kgf)
(sometimeskilopond),istheforceexertedbystandardgravityononekilogramofmass.[49]Thekilogramforce
leadstoanalternate,butrarelyusedunitofmass:themetricslug(sometimesmugorhyl)isthatmasswhich
acceleratesat1ms2whensubjectedtoaforceof1kgf.ThekilogramforceisnotapartofthemodernSI
system,andisgenerallydeprecatedhoweveritstillseesuseforsomepurposesasexpressingaircraftweight,jet
thrust,bicyclespoketension,torquewrenchsettingsandengineoutputtorque.Otherarcaneunitsofforce
includethesthnewhichisequivalentto1000Nandthekipwhichisequivalentto1000lbf.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

20/25

newton

dyne

(SIunit)

1kgm/s2

Unitsofforce
kilogramforce,
kilopond

poundforce

poundal

=105dyn

0.10197kp

0.22481lbF

7.2330pdl

1dyn =105N

1gcm/s2

1.0197106kp

2.2481106lbF

7.2330105pdl

1kp =9.80665N

=980665dyn

gn(1kg)

2.2046lbF

70.932pdl

1lbF 4.448222N

444822dyn

0.45359kp

gn(1lb)

32.174pdl

1pdl 0.138255N

13825dyn

0.014098kp

0.031081lbF

1lbft/s2

1N

Thevalueofgnasusedintheofficialdefinitionofthekilogramforceisusedhereforallgravitationalunits.
SeealsoTonforce.

Forcemeasurement
Seeforcegauge,springscale,loadcell

Seealso
Ordersofmagnitude(force)

Notes
1. ^Newton'sPrincipiaMathematicaactuallyusedafinitedifferenceversionofthisequationbaseduponimpulse.See
Impulse.
2. ^"ItisimportanttonotethatwecannotderiveageneralexpressionforNewton'ssecondlawforvariablemasssystems
bytreatingthemassinF=dP/dt=d(Mv)asavariable.[...]WecanuseF=dP/dttoanalyzevariablemasssystems
onlyifweapplyittoanentiresystemofconstantmasshavingpartsamongwhichthereisaninterchangeofmass."
[Emphasisasintheoriginal](Halliday,Resnick&Krane2001,p.199)
3. ^"Anysingleforceisonlyoneaspectofamutualinteractionbetweentwobodies."(Halliday,Resnick&Krane2001,
pp.7879)
4. ^ForacompletelibraryonquantummechanicsseeQuantummechanicsReferences

References
1. ^Nave,C.R.(2014)."Force"(http://hyperphysics.phyastr.gsu.edu/hbase/force.html).Hyperphysics.Dept.ofPhysics
andAstronomy,GeorgiaStateUniversity.Retrieved15August2014.
2. ^abHeath,T.L."TheWorksofArchimedes(1897).TheunabridgedworkinPDFform(19MB)"
(http://www.archive.org/details/worksofarchimede029517mbp).InternetArchive.Retrieved20071014.
3. ^abcdefghUniversityPhysics,Sears,Young&Zemansky,pp.1838
4. ^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabFeynmanvolume1
5. ^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyKleppner&Kolenkow2010
6. ^abcWeinberg,S.(1994).DreamsofaFinalTheory.VintageBooksUSA.ISBN0679744088.
7. ^Lang,HelenS.(1998).TheorderofnatureinAristotle'sphysics:placeandtheelements(1.publ.ed.).Cambridge:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

21/25

CambridgeUniv.Press.ISBN9780521624534.
8. ^Hetherington,NorrissS.(1993).Cosmology:Historical,Literary,Philosophical,Religious,andScientific
Perspectives.GarlandReferenceLibraryoftheHumanities.p.100.ISBN0815310854.
9. ^abDrake,Stillman(1978).GalileoAtWork.Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress.ISBN0226162265
10. ^abcdefNewton,Isaac(1999).ThePrincipiaMathematicalPrinciplesofNaturalPhilosophy.Berkeley:University
ofCaliforniaPress.ISBN0520088174.ThisisarecenttranslationintoEnglishbyI.BernardCohenandAnne
Whitman,withhelpfromJuliaBudenz.
11. ^DiSalle,Robert(20020330)."SpaceandTime:InertialFrames"(http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/spacetime
iframes/).StanfordEncyclopediaofPhilosophy.Retrieved20080324.
12. ^Howland,R.A.(2006).Intermediatedynamicsalinearalgebraicapproach(OnlineAusg.ed.).NewYork:Springer.
pp.255256.ISBN9780387280592.
13. ^Oneexceptiontothisruleis:Landau,L.D.Akhiezer,A.I.Lifshitz,A.M.(196).GeneralPhysicsmechanicsand
molecularphysics(FirstEnglished.).Oxford:PergamonPress.ISBN0080033040.Translatedby:J.B.Sykes,A.
D.Petford,andC.L.Petford.LibraryofCongressCatalogNumber6730260.Insection7,pages1214,thisbook
definesforceasdp/dt.
14. ^Jammer,Max(1999).Conceptsofforce:astudyinthefoundationsofdynamics(Facsim.ed.).Mineola,N.Y.:
DoverPublications.pp.220222.ISBN9780486406893.
15. ^Noll,Walter(April2007)."OntheConceptofForce"(http://www.math.cmu.edu/~wn0g/Force.pdf)(pdf).Carnegie
MellonUniversity.Retrieved28October2013.
16. ^C.Hellingman(1992)."Newton'sthirdlawrevisited".Phys.Educ.27(2):112115.Bibcode:1992PhyEd..27..112H
(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1992PhyEd..27..112H).doi:10.1088/00319120/27/2/011
(https://dx.doi.org/10.1088%2F00319120%2F27%2F2%2F011)."QuotingNewtoninthePrincipia:Itisnotoneaction
bywhichtheSunattractsJupiter,andanotherbywhichJupiterattractstheSunbutitisoneactionbywhichtheSun
andJupitermutuallyendeavourtocomenearertogether."
17. ^Dr.Nikitin(2007)."Dynamicsoftranslationalmotion"(http://physics
help.info/physicsguide/mechanics/translational_dynamics.shtml).Retrieved20080104.
18. ^abcdeCutnell&Johnson2003
19. ^"Seminar:VisualizingSpecialRelativity"(http://www.anu.edu.au/Physics/Searle/Obsolete/Seminar.html).The
RelativisticRaytracer.Retrieved20080104.
20. ^Wilson,JohnB."FourVectors(4Vectors)ofSpecialRelativity:AStudyofElegantPhysics"
(http://SciRealm.com/4Vectors.html).TheScienceRealm:John'sVirtualSciTechUniverse.Archived
(http://web.archive.org/web/20090626152836/http://www.austininc.com/SciRealm/4Vectors.html)fromtheoriginalon
26June2009.Retrieved20080104.
21. ^"IntroductiontoFreeBodyDiagrams"(http://eta.physics.uoguelph.ca/tutorials/fbd/intro.html).PhysicsTutorial
Menu.UniversityofGuelph.Retrieved20080102.
22. ^Henderson,Tom(2004)."ThePhysicsClassroom"
(http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/GBSSCI/PHYS/Class/vectors/u3l1b.html).ThePhysicsClassroomandMathsoft
Engineering&Education,Inc.Retrieved20080102.
23. ^"StaticEquilibrium"
(http://web.archive.org/web/20071019054156/http://www.uvi.edu/Physics/SCI3xxWeb/Structure/StaticEq.html).
PhysicsStaticEquilibrium(forcesandtorques).UniversityoftheVirginIslands.Archivedfromtheoriginal
(http://www.uvi.edu/Physics/SCI3xxWeb/Structure/StaticEq.html)onOctober19,2007.Retrieved20080102.
24. ^abShifman,Mikhail(1999).ITEPlecturesonparticlephysicsandfieldtheory.WorldScientific.ISBN98102
2639X.
25. ^Nave,CarlRod."PauliExclusionPrinciple"(http://hyperphysics.phyastr.gsu.edu/hbase/pauli.html).HyperPhysics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

22/25

UniversityofGuelph.Retrieved20131028.
26. ^"Fermions&Bosons"(http://particleadventure.org/frameless/fermibos.html).TheParticleAdventure.Retrieved
20080104.
27. ^http://www.pha.jhu.edu/~dfehling/particle.gif
28. ^Cook,A.H.(161601965)."ANewAbsoluteDeterminationoftheAccelerationduetoGravityattheNational
PhysicalLaboratory"(http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v208/n5007/abs/208279a0.html).Nature208(5007):279.
Bibcode:1965Natur.208..279C(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1965Natur.208..279C).doi:10.1038/208279a0
(https://dx.doi.org/10.1038%2F208279a0).Retrieved20080104.Checkdatevaluesin:|date=(help)
29. ^abUniversityPhysics,Sears,Young&Zemansky,pp5982
30. ^"SirIsaacNewton:TheUniversalLawofGravitation"
(http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/history/newtongrav.html).Astronomy161TheSolarSystem.Retrieved
20080104.
31. ^Watkins,Thayer."PerturbationAnalysis,RegularandSingular"(http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/perturb.htm).
DepartmentofEconomics.SanJosStateUniversity.
32. ^Kollerstrom,Nick(2001)."Neptune'sDiscovery.TheBritishCaseforCoPrediction."
(http://web.archive.org/web/20051111190351/http://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/nk/neptune/index.htm).UniversityCollege
London.Archivedfromtheoriginal(http://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/nk/neptune/index.htm)on20051111.Retrieved
20070319.
33. ^Einstein,Albert(1916)."TheFoundationoftheGeneralTheoryofRelativity"
(http://www.alberteinstein.info/gallery/gtext3.html)(PDF).AnnalenderPhysik49(7):769822.
Bibcode:1916AnP...354..769E(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1916AnP...354..769E).doi:10.1002/andp.19163540702
(https://dx.doi.org/10.1002%2Fandp.19163540702).Retrieved20060903.
34. ^Coulomb,Charles(1784)."Recherchesthoriquesetexprimentalessurlaforcedetorsionetsurl'lasticitdesfils
demetal".Histoiredel'AcadmieRoyaledesSciences:229269.
35. ^abcFeynmanvolume2
36. ^Scharf,Toralf(2007).Polarizedlightinliquidcrystalsandpolymers(http://books.google.com/?
id=CQNE13opFucC).JohnWileyandSons.p.19.ISBN0471740640.,Chapter2,p.19
(http://books.google.com/books?id=CQNE13opFucC&pg=PA19)
37. ^Duffin,William(1980).ElectricityandMagnetism,3rdEd.McGrawHill.pp.364383.ISBN007084111X.
38. ^Stevens,Tab(10/07/2003)."QuantumChromodynamics:ADefinitionScienceArticles"
(http://web.archive.org/web/20111016103116/http://www.physicspost.com/sciencearticle168.html).Archivedfromthe
original(http://www.physicspost.com/sciencearticle168.html)on20111016.Retrieved20080104.Checkdate
valuesin:|date=(help)
39. ^"TensionForce"(http://www.mtsu.edu/~phys2010/Lectures/Part_2__L6_
_L11/Lecture_9/Tension_Force/tension_force.html).NonCalculusBasedPhysicsI.Retrieved20080104.
40. ^Fitzpatrick,Richard(20060202)."Strings,pulleys,andinclines"
(http://farside.ph.utexas.edu/teaching/301/lectures/node48.html).Retrieved20080104.
41. ^Nave,CarlRod."Elasticity"(http://hyperphysics.phyastr.gsu.edu/hbase/permot2.html).HyperPhysics.Universityof
Guelph.Retrieved20131028.
42. ^Mallette,Vincent(19822008)."InwitPublishing,Inc.andInwit,LLCWritings,LinksandSoftwareDistributions
TheCoriolisForce"(http://www.algorithm.com/inwit/writings/coriolisforce.html).PublicationsinScienceand
Mathematics,ComputingandtheHumanities.InwitPublishing,Inc.Retrieved20080104.
43. ^Nave,CarlRod."Newton's2ndLaw:Rotation"(http://hyperphysics.phyastr.gsu.edu/HBASE/n2r.html).
HyperPhysics.UniversityofGuelph.Retrieved20131028.
44. ^Fitzpatrick,Richard(20070107)."Newton'sthirdlawofmotion"
(http://farside.ph.utexas.edu/teaching/336k/lectures/node26.html).Retrieved20080104.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

23/25

(http://farside.ph.utexas.edu/teaching/336k/lectures/node26.html).Retrieved20080104.
45. ^Nave,CarlRod."CentripetalForce"(http://hyperphysics.phyastr.gsu.edu/hbase/cf.html).HyperPhysics.University
ofGuelph.Retrieved20131028.
46. ^Hibbeler,RussellC.(2010).EngineeringMechanics,12thedition.PearsonPrenticeHall.p.222.ISBN013
6077919.
47. ^Singh,SunilKumar(20070825)."Conservativeforce"(http://cnx.org/content/m14104/latest/).Connexions.
Retrieved20080104.
48. ^Davis,Doug."ConservationofEnergy"(http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfadd/1350/08PotEng/ConsF.html).General
physics.Retrieved20080104.
49. ^abcdeWandmacher,CorneliusJohnson,Arnold(1995).MetricUnitsinEngineering.ASCEPublications.p.15.
ISBN0784400709.

Furtherreading
Corben,H.C.PhilipStehle(1994).ClassicalMechanics.NewYork:Doverpublications.pp.2831.ISBN0486
680630.
Cutnell,JohnD.Johnson,KennethW.(2003).Physics,SixthEdition.Hoboken,NewJersey:JohnWiley&SonsInc.
ISBN0471151831.
Feynman,RichardP.LeightonSands,Matthew(2010).TheFeynmanlecturesonphysics.Vol.I:Mainlymechanics,
radiationandheat(Newmillenniumed.).NewYork:BasicBooks.ISBN9780465024933.
Feynman,RichardP.Leighton,RobertB.Sands,Matthew(2010).TheFeynmanlecturesonphysics.Vol.II:Mainly
electromagnetismandmatter(Newmillenniumed.).NewYork:BasicBooks.ISBN9780465024940.
Halliday,DavidResnick,RobertKrane,KennethS.(2001).Physicsv.1.NewYork:JohnWiley&Sons.ISBN0
471320579.
Kleppner,DanielKolenkow,RobertJ.(2010).Anintroductiontomechanics(3.printed.).Cambridge:Cambridge
UniversityPress.ISBN0521198216.
Parker,Sybil(1993)."force".EncyclopediaofPhysics.Ohio:McGrawHill.p.107,.ISBN0070514003.
SearsF.,ZemanskyM.&YoungH.(1982).UniversityPhysics.Reading,Massachusetts:AddisonWesley.ISBN0
201071991.
Serway,RaymondA.(2003).PhysicsforScientistsandEngineers.Philadelphia:SaundersCollegePublishing.
ISBN0534408427.
Tipler,Paul(2004).PhysicsforScientistsandEngineers:Mechanics,OscillationsandWaves,Thermodynamics(5th
ed.).W.H.Freeman.ISBN0716708094.
Verma,H.C.(2004).ConceptsofPhysicsVol1.(2004Reprinted.).BhartiBhavan.ISBN8177091875.

Externallinks
VideolectureonNewton'sthreelaws
(http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Physics/801Physics
IFall1999/VideoLectures/detail/VideoSegmentIndexforL6.htm)
byWalterLewinfromMITOpenCourseWare
AJavasimulationonvectoradditionofforces

WikimediaCommonshas
mediarelatedtoForces.
Lookupforcein
Wiktionary,thefree
dictionary.

(http://phy.hk/wiki/englishhtm/Vector.htm)
Forcedemonstratedasanyinfluenceonanobjectthatchangestheobject'sshapeormotion(video)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

24/25

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkWKvMtdLYU)
Retrievedfrom"http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Force&oldid=647074262"
Categories: Naturalphilosophy Classicalmechanics Conceptsinphysics Force Physicalquantities
Thispagewaslastmodifiedon14February2015,at09:10.
TextisavailableundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionShareAlikeLicenseadditionaltermsmay
apply.Byusingthissite,youagreetotheTermsofUseandPrivacyPolicy.Wikipediaisaregistered
trademarkoftheWikimediaFoundation,Inc.,anonprofitorganization.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force

25/25