Force is that which changes or tends to change the state of motion of a body. Newton generalized the behavior of constant acceleration, or constant momentum gain. He asserted in his second law of motion that this behavior is characteristic of all forces.
Newton's second law states that force is equal to the rate of change of momentum with time:
F=dp/dt
The momentum is p=mv, where m is the mass and v is the velocity.
If the mass is constant in time, then Newton's law can be written in simplified form:
F=m(dv/dt)=ma, where a is the acceleration.
Momentum is a vector, and then force is also a vector.
Wed, 2010-09-01 19:29
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