Adaptive Physics or

-An Adaptable Freely Available Physics Textbook

( Ver. 0.93 ept. !0"#$
%y &ee A. 'einleitner( Ph.).
*ntrod+ction
This physics textbook is being created as a Freely Available Textbook, and
as such, is freely available to be distributed, printed, or otherwise used for either
personal use or classroom use, as long as modifications are done only by the
original author. As textbook prices are starting to become a serious impediment
to the educational process, it is my goal to bring my expertise as both a h.!. in
space physics, and as a high school teacher of physics and math, into the
creation of a freely available basic physics textbook. This physics textbook is
to be freely distributed "and updated# on the $nternet.
As a physics teacher, $ have often found that there is a big difference
between the concepts of physics "for a basic understanding of the science#, and
the mathematical aspects that make it a truly useful science for advancing
technology. $ am thus writing this book using standard black font "%& pt.# for
the introduction of basic physics concepts and simple mathematics "which $
would view as ade'uate for a standard hysics (oncepts course with limited
mathematics#, and a blue font (in italics) for introducing the more advanced
mathematical aspects of the each concept. The mathematics level will go up to
trigonometry and vectors, but will not include calculus)based physics#. This
textbook is intended to be adaptable for use at any non)calculus high school
level, and it could be used for some introductory college classes, hence the
name Adaptive hysics. *hile it could not be used for a calculus based
college class, it could be useful "and inexpensive# supplemental reading.
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,y initial focus for the use of this textbook will be for teaching my own
high school classes. Thus $ will be very focused on the aspects of classical
"sometimes called -ewtonian# physics, which $ feel serves as a foundation for
the extensive additions to physics often lumped together under the heading of
,odern hysics. The ma.ority of illustrations in this text are going to be very
unsophisticated "often stick figure drawings# and focused primarily on .ust
illustrating various concept points of physics.
$ have often used a /ad *ords list in teaching physics, with a large
number of physics terms listed that my class is not permitted to use until they
can clearly explain what the word means in the physics sense, rather than the
common 0nglish meaning. 1ntil they can do this, the word is considered a
/ad *ord and may not be used in class. $ then introduce each /ad *ord
with a (oncept Activity in which the students explore the meaning of the word,
without using the word or a synonym of the word. *hen they can do that, then
the /ad *ord is taken off the list. 2radually, all of the /ad *ords are
removed from the list during the progress of the class. The order of material
"and pretty much the /ad *ords themselves# can be found in the chapter
titles of this book.
0ventually $ intend to hyperlink each chapter unit from the table of contents,
but for now only the chapter titles are hyperlinked. At the bottom of each page
there is a hyperlink to the Table of (ontents for your convenience, and although
an index is not included at present, a search for any word can be done with a
computer or tablet.
3 +ump to Table of (ontents
Ackno,led-.ents
$ am grateful to my wife, 4atherine and my family who have lent me their
support throughout this endeavor.
$ am grateful to the many teachers and mentors that $ have had through my life.
$ am grateful to the many students that have helped me understand how to teach
physics more effectively, and who have also helped me understand physics
more clearly myself in trying to explain it to them.
$ am creating this text using a free office suite called 5ibre6ffice and wish to
acknowledge my gratitude for the availability of this freely available open
software, available at the website www.libreoffice.org.
7 +ump to Table of (ontents
/sin- this Textbook
$ am writing this textbook with a focus on starting with the basic concepts of
physics, and then building upon these concepts with the mathematical aspects
of physics "as well as a few more advanced concepts#. This more advanced
work is needed to 'uantitatively analy8e and predict the results and solutions to
problems and situations that lies at the heart of physics. $n order to do this, $
will create most of the basic conceptual portion of this textbook "with simple
mathematics# in standard black Times -ew 9oman font, and use blue (if you
have color) italics font for the more advanced and mathematical manipulations
(as well as occasional emphasis on thoughts).
For the exercises "either handed)out in class or included at the end of each
chapter#, there are three sections:

The first will be labeled (oncept ;uestions.
The second will be labeled lug)in roblems.
The third will be labeled ,athematical roblems.
For the most part the (oncept ;uestions are completely conceptual in nature
with very limited mathematics re'uired to answer them "thus needing only
familiarity with the conceptual portion of this text#.
The lug)in roblems are an extension of the concepts to the use of
formulas found in the text, but are usually simple and straight forward plug the
numbers "and units# into the proper formula.
The ,athematical roblems, however, may re'uire familiarity with, and
careful reading of both the conceptional portions of the text, and the more
advanced and mathematical sections, and while they may .ust put numbers and
units into a formula, they may also include several stages of calculation for the
full solution to the problem.
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=ome terms and symbols in this textbook that you will need to be familiar
with are:
Negligible > $ will use this term, to refer to some aspect of a scenario or
problem that does not have enough of an effect upon the solution or answer to
be considered in analy8ing or solving a problem. $t can thus be ignored for
this problem. "0xample: Air resistance is negligible for a falling cannonball
during the first few seconds.#
Qualitative > $ will use this term to describe ideas that do not have a measurable
value, such as the terms fast and slow. 0xample: The turtle is slow, while the
rabbit is fast.
Quantitative > $ will use this term to describe ideas that do have a measurable
value, such as the terms speed and velocity. 0xample: The turtle is moving
at ?.?% m@s, while the rabbit is moving at 3 m@s.
The 0 sign means the change in something, or the difference in something. $t
will typically be the final value of the something minus the initial value of
the something. 0xample: AB C change in velocity C B
final
> B
initial
The 0 subscript "sometimes pronounced naught, which rhymes with thought#
stands for time = zero which is .ust the initial time. $f there is no subscript,
it stands for that 'uantity at that moment in time. For most e'uations this is
the final 'uantity. Thus, taking the initial velocity in an e'uation for example,
we could use v
i
or v
o
e'uivalently. Thus we will say these are the same
throughout the textbook: v
i
= v
o

and v
f
= v or x
i
= x
o
and x
f

= x D
E +ump to Table of (ontents
Table o1 2ontents (2hapters and ections$
". 3hat is Physics4
%.% /asics of =cience, and its development into branches.
%.3 =cientific ,ethod
%.7 6rdering of =tages of =cientific $deas
%.< =cientific ,ethodology
%.E *hat is hysicsF
%.& ,athematics and hysicsF
%.G The =e'uence in Teaching hysicsF
!. 3hat are 5eas+re.ents4
3.% =tandards and The ,etric =ystem
3.3 ,easurements
3.7 ,easurement 0rrors
3.< =ignificant !igits and =cientific -otation
3.E (onversions and !imensional Analysis
3.& ,easurement 0stimations
3. 3hat is 5otion4
7.% !efining ,otion
7.3 ,easurements of motion "=peed and Belocity#
7.7 (hanging Belocity without (hanging =peed
7.< (hanges in ,otion "Acceleration#
7.E The three 0'uations of ,otion =implified
7.& The three 0'uations of ,otion =tandard
7.G $ntro. " indicate direction#
7.H 9elative ,otion $ntroduction
#. 3hat is Force4
<.% -ewtonIs Three 5aws
<.3 -ewtonIs First 5aw
<.7 -ewtonIs =econd 5aw
<.< 5ooking at ,ass versus *eight
<.E Freely Falling 6b.ects
<.& -ature of Barious Forces
<.G -ewtonIs Third 5aw
<.H Free /ody !iagrams
<.J Friction
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6. 3hat are Vectors4
E.% (oncept of Bectors
E.3 2raphical =olution for Adding Bectors
E.7 /reaking Bectors into (omponents
E.< (omponents 1sed for Adding Bectors
E.E ro.ectile ,otion
7. 3hat is 8ner-y4
&.% $ntroduction: The 0nergy (risisD
&.3 *hat is 0nergyF
&.7 Barious 4inds of 0nergy
&.< 4inetic 0nergy
&.E otential 0nergy
&.& Friction
&.G *ork)0nergy rinciple
&.H (onservative Forces
&.J (onservation of 0nergy
&.%? ,echanical 0nergy in =ystems
&.%% *hat is owerF
&.%3 =imple ,achines
&.%7 (onclusion on 0nergy
9. 3hat is 5o.ent+.4
G.% !efinition of ,omentum
G.3 !efinition of $mpulse
G.7 (onservation of ,omentum
G.< (ollisions, both 0lastic and $nelastic
G.E 1sing (onservation of ,omentum for problem solving.
G.& (enter of ,ass
:. 3hat is 'otational 5otion4
H.% (hanging directionsD
H.3 (ircular ,otion
H.7 (entripetal Forces
H.< 9otation versus 9evolution "Angular ,otion#
H.E Artificial 2ravity
H.& Tor'ue, 9otational $nertia, K Angular Acceleration
H.G Angular ,omentum and 9otational 0nergy
H.H. 9otational 0'uations with similarity to 5inear 0'uations
G +ump to Table of (ontents
9. 3hat are tability and tatics4
J.% 2ravitational =tability
J.3 =tability by constraint
J.7 =tatics =ituations and roblem =olving
J.< =tatics =ituations and roblem =olving "cont.#
"0. 3hat is ;ravity4
%?.% =ir $ssac <e,ton and 2ravity
%?.3 2ravity as a Force
%?.7 1niversal 5aw of 2ravity
%?.< 2ravitation within and without 0arth
%?.E 2ravity and (ircular 6rbits
%?.& Tidal Forces on 6b.ects
%?.G 5unar and =olar 0clipses
%?.H 4eplerIs 5aws for 6rbits
%?.J 2ravity and 0lliptical 6rbits "4eplerIs %
st
5aw#
%?.%? 2ravity and 0lliptical 6rbits "4eplerIs 3
nd
5aw#
%?.%% 2ravity and 0lliptical 6rbits "4eplerIs 7
rd
5aw#
%?.%3 0scape Belocity "*hat goes up, may not come downD#
%?.%7 0lliptical orbit vs arabolic ath for ro.ectiles
"". 3hat is Press+re4
"!. 3hat are 3aves4
%3.% Bibrations and 6scillations
%3.3 The *ave (oncept
%3.7 The *ave ulse vs (ontinuous *ave
%3.< Transverse vs 5ongitudinal *aves
%3.E 5aw of 5inear =uperposition "$nterference#
%3.& *ave henomenon
"3. 3hat is o+nd4
"#. 3hat is &i-ht ( and The 8lectro.a-netic pectr+.$4
"6. 3hat is =ptics ('ays and &enses$4
"7. 3hat is =ptics (3aves and *nter1erence$4
"9. 3hat is =ptics (=ptical *nstr+.ents =ld and <e,$4
":. 3hat is 8lectricity4
"9. 3hat is 5a-netis.4
!0. 3hat is pecial 'elativity4
!". 3hat is Ther.odyna.ics4
!!. 3hat is >+ant+. 5echanics4
H +ump to Table of (ontents
!3. 3hat is all that pace t+114
pace Travel
pace ettle.ents
2os.olo-y
!#. 3here does it all end4
Appendix A Physical 2onstants and 2onversions
J +ump to Table of (ontents
2hapter ". 3hat is Physics4
"." %asics o1 cience( and its develop.ent into ?branches@.
6ne of the most important developments in human history has been the
development of both science and the scientific method. The use of these
methods has increased our knowledge of how the world and the rest of the
universe actually works. $n addition, using this knowledge has, through
engineering and technology, vastly increased our control over our world "for
both good and bad purposes#. 6riginally virtually all of our scientific fields
were viewed together, and put under the heading of -atural hilosophy or
-atural =cience. ,ost of the early scientists were basically general
scientists rather than our many types of scientist today such as physicist,
chemist, biologist, etc. "notice how $ managed to get physicist in that list first#.
,ost scientists had one or more special fields of interest, but most had a good
knowledge of virtually all of the rest of science at that time. As the amount of
knowledge grew, it became increasingly difficult for each person to know all
science "especially as many of these early scientists held other .obs, and their
scientific interest was sometimes simply a passionate hobby#. =oon, nobody
had the time or memory to learn all that there was to know about science.
As an example of the general knowledge of all science of his day, =ir $ssac
-ewton, "arguably the greatest scientist of all time# formali8ed the concepts of
motion developed by 2alileo and others into -ewtonIs three 5aws of ,otion.
Le also developed the concept of the 1niversal 5aw of 2ravitation, and then
used mathematics to prove that the planets must follow elliptical orbits around
the =un, if this law was actually an inverse s'uare of the distance law. This
supported another scientistIs "4epler# discovery that the planets moved around
the =un in elliptical paths, rather than the complicated motion of perfect circles
on perfect circles paths advocated by tolemy and later (opernicus. -ewton
co)invented a form of (alculus, but since it was not rigorously developed or
proven correct, he often used it to find correct answers to problems, and then
used extremely elegant but complex geometrical proofs to show the world that
his answers were correct. Le proved the nature of white light as a combination
of all of the colors, and used this knowledge to develop "and actually produce# a
small model of a reflecting telescope, that was vastly better than other
telescopes of his day. $n addition to the scientific studies that he performed, he
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also did tremendous studies in both alchemy and religion, as well as being
*arden of the 9oyal ,int in 0ngland.
!uring about the %H??Is science began to slowly separate into specific and
speciali8ed fields of research, and this trend has continued until this day, with
the result of many very speciali8ed sub)categories of scientific research. This is
perhaps necessary as the sheer amount of knowledge has increased so much, but
also detrimental to science as a whole, since scientists today often donIt get
cross)fertili8ation of ideas between various sub)fields of science.
".! cienti1ic 5ethod
The scientific method has been one of the most powerful methods ever
developed in human history to learn to understand nature, and then to use that
understanding to further develop mankindIs technological capabilities. The
hardest thing for a student to learn about it, is that the scientific method is
never)endingD *hile logical deduction is used in the scientific method, it is
observations, experiments, and the ability to make predictions that can be
checked that form the basis of the scientific method.
There are many definitions of the scientific method, but the principle focus
of the scientific method is using a hypothesis or theory to make a prediction,
and then to check that prediction using experimentation. /ased upon the results
of the experiment"s#, the hypothesis or theory is either discarded or modified, or
you try to come up with further experiments, and you pretty much continue this
forever. Mou should note that while experiments may confirm a particular
prediction or give support to a hypothesis or theory, an experiment can never
really prove that a theory or hypothesis is correct. For this textbook, $ will be
using the following table as my definition, or set of steps for the scientific
method:
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".3 =rderin- o1 ta-es o1 cienti1ic *deas
The above outline of the scientific method doesnIt distinguish properly the
various stages that a scientific study can reach. The beginning stage is a
hypothesis or educated guess that may come from a single observation, or may
come from combining many observations. As you keep repeating the process
"number & in the list# the gradual accumulation of predictions that lead to
more supported observations leads to new levels in the process "such as a model
or a theory#. As scientists continue working on either the model or theory and
%3 +ump to Table of (ontents
teps 1or the cienti1ic 5ethod.
%. 5ook for a relationship "often to help understand a problem in nature#.
3. ,ake a hypothesis "an educated guess# based upon all known facts and
information. A hypothesis must be able to make predictions that can be
tested, and can therefore be shown to be incorrect. *t .+st al,ays
.ake predictions that can be tested and sho,n to be ,ron- or
incorrect.
7. 1se the hypothesis to make predictions as a conse'uence of the
hypothesis.
<. erform experi.ents to test the predictions.
E. $f predictions are not confirmed, then discard "or modify# the
hypothesis, and using the new hypothesis repeat the procedure of
making and testing predictions. $f predictions are confirmed, then
make new and different predictions based upon the hypothesis, and
continue performing experi.ents. 0ventually your hypothesis
becomes a theory, and then......
&. Aeep repeatin- n+.ber 6 (pretty .+ch 1orever$.
continue to perform ,A-M experiments, eventually such a theory or model
starts to be viewed by the scientific community as being absolutely correct and
always in full compliance with all observational evidence. At this point in the
process, it often starts being called a scienti1ic la,. 0ven at this stage,
periodically, new evidence causes scientists to re)examine the particular law,
and sub.ect it to further experimental testing. The following are my list of the
basic four stages of a scientific formulation:
Although these are displayed as four distinct stages, there is no clear and
%7 +ump to Table of (ontents
ta-es o1 cienti1ic *deas
%. Lypothesis ) an educated guess that needs a lot of testing.
3. ,odel ) much like a hypothesis but usually contains a
mental image of a set of particular phenomena that gives us
deeper understanding of the phenomena. =till needs a lot of
testing.
7. Theory ) a synthesis of a large amount of information into an
organi8ed and well)tested hypothesis that is detailed and
usually predicts results with mathematical precision "often
as a relationship or as an e'uation between 'uantities such
as F
net
C ma#.
<. =cientific 5aw ) a concise and general theory about how
nature behaves under certain conditions, that has stood the
test of time "and &=T of experiments#, and is generally
accepted to be correct until new evidence disproves it.
Any o1 the above( to be called ?scienti1ic@( .+st be
based +pon reasonin- and experi.ents( and ,ith
still 1+rther experi.ents .+st be capable o1 bein-
proved incorrectB
sudden .ump from one stage to another. There is, instead, a gradual blending
and usually a gradual progression from the lower stages of scientific
formulation to the last stage which is that of a =cientific 5aw. To be scientific,
even scientific laws are not absolute, and both can and actually have been
changedD An example of this is -ewtonIs 5aw of 1niversal 2ravitation. This
law stood for many centuries, and was viewed by many scientists as being a
superb example of an absolutely correct scientific factD Lowever, in the late
%H??Is and early %J??Is, this law was found to predict results "especially with
the planet ,ercuryIs orbital motion# which were .ust slightly not what was
observed. This led to many arguments as to whether the observations were at
fault, but eventually this law was actually been shown to be incorrect under
certain circumstances such as large masses "the =unIs mass or greater# or high
precision "such as 2= receivers#. This led to the development of 0insteinIs
Theory of 2eneral 9elativity, which is viewed now as a much better theory
"better in that it makes predictions that more closely match what we see in
nature#. 0insteinIs theory has not stood the test of time yet, so it is still not
called a scientific law, even though some scientists are beginning to think that it
should be.
$t is important to reali8e that this does -6T mean that -ewtonIs 5aw of
1niversal 2ravitation is now viewed as flawed, incorrect, and never to be
taught in a physics class againN but instead means that we teach that it works
virtually flawlessly under certain known circumstances "like in the classroom#.
Now the above paragraphs may make it seem that science continues to
proceed in a gradual and steady pace to increase our understanding of how the
world works, but in actual fact scientists are very human, and often get very
attached to their own hypotheses and theories. hey must often be forced by
other (and often younger) scientists to change their theories by new evidence,
and will often continue to try to modify or !tweak" their own theories (or the
older and established theories that they are familiar with) to make them work
for the new evidence. #ccasionally, they may even try to discredit the other
scientist or evidence that is being presented. he beauty of the scientific
method, is that this becomes increasingly difficult as more and more
experiments are done, and more and more evidence is accumulated.
$ometimes this becomes steadily more difficult until the entire underlying
%< +ump to Table of (ontents
theory or hypothesis must be totally thrown out and replaced by an entirely new
underlying framework of hypothesis, theory, etc. (which is sometime called a
paradigm shift). #ne example of this would be when the entire idea that
everything in the universe went around the earth at the center, to the new
concept that the center (of the solar system) was the sun and all of the planets
including the earth revolved around it% &nother example is the above
mentioned change from Newton's (aw of )niversal *ravitation to +instein's
theory of *eneral ,elativity. he scientific method often proceeds in a
somewhat bouncy or unsteady manner, but over time continues to produce
better and better methods describing, explaining, understanding, and predicting
how the world and universe works.
".# cienti1ic 5ethodolo-y
This textbook stresses the importance of a scientific stage as being able of
being proved incorrect "or false or wrong# by experimentation, as a critical part
of the scientific method, rather than the more traditional focus on observations,
reasoning, and experimentation. $t is only by these methods of observation,
reasoning, and experimentation that a scientific stage ever could be proved
incorrect, thus remaining scientific. Any view or belief, in order to be
scientific, must make predictions, or have conse'uences that can then be tested
and verified again and again and again, etc. $f a view or belief does not do so,
then it cannot be considered to be scientific, but must be considered to be some
other category such as philosophy or religion. -ote that technically, no
scientific theory or law can ever actually be proven correctD $t is .ust found
time and time again, experiment after experiment to always make predictions
that match the results of experiments, until some people "even scientists# will
say that they have been proven correct. Any tr+e scientist, even if he@she is a
little sloppy about his@her statements, will go on to say that if there is an
experiment that disproves a scientific stage, then the hypothesis, model, theory
or scientific law must be either thrown out or modified.
=ince the scientific method has proven to be so successful at solving
problems and creating solutions to the many problems that have faced mankind
such as transportation, construction of buildings, and feeding of the population,
many people view science as being the same thing as truth, and thus wish to
%E +ump to Table of (ontents
attach the term science to their studies or views. $ can remember several
ma.or arguments $ had in college with a friend that was studying computer
science. $ had stated that it was not a science, but rather a branch of
engineering that used both mathematics and science to create computational
models or actual computers. Le never managed to convince me otherwise
"despite a huge and well)intentioned effort on his part#.
(urrently in the 1nited =tates there is much controversy over the teaching of
=cientific (reationism "or its more recent version called $ntelligent !esign# in
our schools along with the Theory of 0volution. Almost all court cases have
been decided, not by saying that =cientific (reationism or $ntelligent !esign
are wrong or incorrect, but rather by saying that they do not follow scientific
principles and the scientific method, and thus =cientific (reationism cannot be
taught as a science.
A good check on whether any theory is truly a scientific one, is to check if
it has any prediction or conse'uence of nature, directly supporting that theory,
that can be tested and proven incorrect. As an example, there was a theory
advanced that aliens from outer space helped the early human civili8ations
create early monuments and structures such as the pyramids or the 0aster $sland
stone ,oai statues. This is a theory that had elements of not being able to be
disproved. This was because it was based largely on the argument that early
civili8ations simply would not have been capable of such monumental tasks
without help. Fortunately in many cases archaeologists have been able to
determine the methods used in construction of such monuments, but this simply
reduced the argument to they simply wouldnIt have known how, which really
canIt be proven incorrectD
".6 3hat is Physics4
5et us return to the 'uestion, what is physicsF hysics is a branch of science
that studies matter and energy. (learly it has links to all other branches of
science, and strong applications to the fields of engineering and technology. $t
focuses upon discovering, formulating, and testing the natural laws that govern
matter, energy, and the motion of all things. $t has developed a number of
separate concepts that help in the formulation of many of these natural laws,
%& +ump to Table of (ontents
and you can learn many of these concepts from this textbook.
-ore recently (during the last century) physics has also focused upon $pace
and ime in a manner .uite different from the older views of these concepts.
hese concepts were viewed as absolutes before the great discoveries of $pecial
and *eneral ,elativity by &lbert +instein. /e showed how these two concepts
could be linked together, and not viewed as absolute, along with the great
implications for 0osmology, (or how our entire )niverse is !put together").
hese concepts, along with the concepts of the microscopic and atomic world
described by various forms of the theory of 1uantum -echanics, make up the
ma2or advances of this last century that, all together, are lumped under the
name !modern physics". 3hile there will be an introduction to some aspects
of modern physics in this text, the general purpose will be a study of the more
familiar classical physics, which was the foundation for the physics upheavals
started by &lbert +instein (and many others) in the early 45
th
0entury.
%G +ump to Table of (ontents
".7 5athe.atics and Physics4
,athematics and physics have always been very closely tied together. They
are so closely tied together because it is only through mathematical analysis that
exact solutions and answers to physics and engineering problems are created.
Low things in our world work often does not re'uire mathematics, but solutions
to problems usually do re'uire mathematics. 6ften the creation of new
branches of mathematics and physics go hand)in)hand, with one essentially
creating the other. =ir $saac -ewton actually invented his early form of
(alculus to solve many of his early physics problems. =ome branches of
mathematics seemed initially to have no useful purpose, like the complex or
imaginary numbers "using the s'uare root of negative one#, only later were
found to have direct application to electric circuits. Low and why mathematics
and physics are so closely tied together is a philosophical 'uestion beyond the
scope of this textbook, but they simply are.
This means that while for the conceptual parts of this textbook, $ will try to
minimi8e the mathematics, but there will still be some. The harder mathematics
sections will be reserved for the more advanced sections of the textbook "using
both italics and blue#.
".9 The eC+ence in Teachin- Physics4
A ma.or topic of debate in teaching physics is always the order in which the
concepts are taught. This is because everything in physics either affects,
shapes, or actually links into other parts of physics. $t should really be taught
all at once but since no one can do that, there is usually a se'uence or
order in which the concepts of physics are taught in a classroom. ,y
se'uence is fairly conventional "although $ put the unit on energy fairly early
in the se'uence, and have optics before electric and magnetic fields#. Mou
can find my teaching se'uence by simply looking at the Table of (ontents for
this textbook "which you can get to by clicking on the +ump to Table of
(ontents link at the bottom of each page#.
%H +ump to Table of (ontents
2hapter " +..ary
". 6ne of the most important developments in human history has been the
development of both science and the scientific method.
!. teps 1or the cienti1ic 5ethodD
%. 5ook for a relationship "often to help understand a problem in nature#.
3. ,ake a hypothesis "an educated guess# based upon all known facts and
information. A hypothesis must be able to make predictions that can be
tested, and can therefore be shown to be incorrect. *t .+st al,ays .ake
predictions that can be tested and sho,n to be ,ron- or incorrect.
7. 1se the hypothesis to make predictions as a conse'uence of the
hypothesis.
<. erform experi.ents to the predictions.
E. $f predictions are not confirmed, then discard "or modify# the hypothesis,
and using the new hypothesis repeat the procedure of making and testing
predictions. $f predictions are confirmed, then make new and different
predictions based upon the hypothesis, and continue performing
experi.ents. 0ventually your hypothesis becomes a theory, and then......
&. Aeep repeatin- n+.ber 6 (pretty .+ch 1orever$.
3. ta-es o1 cienti1ic *deasD
%. Lypothesis ) an educated guess that needs a lot of testing.
3. ,odel ) much like a hypothesis but usually contains a mental image of a
set of particular phenomena that gives us deeper understanding of the
phenomena. =till needs a lot of testing.
7. Theory ) a synthesis of a large amount of information into an organi8ed
and well)tested hypothesis that is detailed and usually predicts results with
mathematical precision "often as a relationship or as an e'uation between
'uantities such as F
net
C ma#.
<. =cientific 5aw ) a concise and general theory about how nature behaves
under certain conditions, that has stood the of time "and &=T of
experiments# and is generally accepted to be correct until new evidence
disproves it .
Any o1 the above( to be called ?scienti1ic@( .+st be based +pon reasonin-
and res+lts o1 experi.ents( and be capable o1 bein- proved incorrectB
%J +ump to Table of (ontents
A paradi-. shi1t is when the entire underlying theory or hypothesis must be
totally thrown out and replaced by an entirely new underlying framework of
hypothesis, theory, etc.
#. cienti1ic 5ethodolo-yD To check on whether or not a theory is scientific,
check whether it makes predictions that are capable of being proved
incorrect. Then check what facts and experiments support it so far.
6. Physics is a branch of science that studies matter and energy.
7. 5athe.atics and Physics have always been very closely tied together.
They are so closely tied together because it is only through mathematical
analysis that exact solutions and answers to physics and engineering
problems about how everything in our world works are created.
3? +ump to Table of (ontents
2hapter !. 3hat are 5eas+re.ents4
!." tandards and The 5etric yste.
,any of the concepts of physics are based upon measurements and
relationships between various 'uantities. All measurements re'uire agreed)
upon standards, and these standards usually reflect the basic standard units with
which that all of the measurements are performed.
=tandards are what the community agrees will be the basic measurement
against which to compare all of our measurements. At first for local
communities this might be something such as the foot of the present leader or
4ing, but this 'uickly becomes a problem when a change in the standard takes
place "the 4ingIs foot shrinks with age, or a new 4ing takes over when the old
one dies#. eople donIt like changing their standards, so naturally people started
searching for standards that would not change. The system used most
commonly in the 1nited =tates of America is the /ritish or 0nglish system
"which even the /ritish are abandoning by switching to the metric system#. A
ma.or problem with the /ritish system is that converting from one si8e of
measurement to another can be very awkward "like E3H? feet to the mile, and so
on#.
The metric system is the best known international system of standards, and
even it has gone through many different variations and methods of improving
its precision. The present form of the metric system is called the *
*nternational yste. o1 /nits"O$yst6me 7nternational d')nit8sO in French,
hence O=$O#, and that is the set of units that will be used for this textbook. The
metric system gets around some of the awkwardness of the /ritish system by
using factors of ten as the multipliers between various si8es of measurements.
$t is not to be said that there is anything mystical about factors of ten, except
that we seem to have ten fingers and ten toes, and thus our system of
mathematical measurement uses base %?. Thus using factors of ten for
measurements makes converting measurements somewhat more convenient.
he basic standard for a measurement was often ideally based upon some
idea, but then had to be concretely decided upon. he meter was originally
intended to the exactly one ten9millionth of the distance between the North pole
3% +ump to Table of (ontents
and the +.uator on the line going through :aris, but the physical international
standard of length actually used was a bar of platinum9iridium alloy called a
standard meter, that was kept at the 7nternational ;ureau of 3eights and
-easures near :aris, <rance. he distance between two fine lines engraved on
gold plugs near the ends of this bar under certain conditions (temperature,
support, pressure, etc.) was defined as exactly one meter. 7t turned out to be
about 5.54=> less than its originally intended value of being exactly one ten9
millionth of the distance from the North pole to the +.uator. he period of time
used was the second, which was based upon ?@A5 of ?@A5 of ?@4B
th
of a day
(which is the time it takes the sun to move from its highest point in the sky
during one light cycle to its highest point in the sky during the next light cycle).
he metric unit of mass was called the !gram" which was based on the mass of
water needed to fill a cubic centimeter at the temperature that water has its
highest density. 7t was found that this unit of mass was really too small for
common measurements, and so the kilogram (?555 grams) was actually
adapted as the unit of mass, which was then defined as the mass of a particular
cylinder of platinum9iridium also kept at the 7nternational ;ureau of 3eights
and -easures (;7:- 9 ;ureau 7nternational des :oids et -esures) :aris,
<rance.
+ven though essentially exact copies of these items may exist many places in
the world, including the ;ureau of $tandards of the )nited $tates, there are
many problems with having our measurement standards being particular
ob2ects. <or example, the second (based upon the +arth's rotation) changes as
the +arth's rotation rate changes. hese changes are incredibly small, but do
occur, as mountains shift, tides drag on the +arth, and so on. 7n the case of the
meter, the distance between the scratches on a bar of platinum9iridium may
change due to temperature, and pressure, or even become a .uestion, if the
width of the scratch is large compared to the ob2ects you are measuring. <or
the case of the kilogram, dust added and changes from cleaning the platinum9
iridium cylinder can change your measurement standard microscopically with
time. &nother problem with using particular ob2ects as standards is that since
they are located in only one place in the world, they can be difficult to get
access to due to factors such as distance or political conditions. hey could
also be destroyed by acts of terror, disaster, war, etc. 7n order to get around this
problem, the present $7 metric system is almost totally based upon properties of
nature to produce extremely high precision and unchanging measurement
33 +ump to Table of (ontents
standards.
<or exampleC
? second = the duration of D,?D4,A=?,EE5 periods of the radiation
corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground
state of the cesium ?== atom.
? meter = the length of the path traveled by light in vacuum during a time
interval of one 4DD,ED4,BFG
th
of a second (which defines the speed of light to
be exactly 4DD,ED4,BFG m@s).
The only standard not yet based upon nature is the kilogram:
? kilogram = the mass of the international prototype of the kilogram kept at the
7nternational ;ureau of 3eights and -easures (;7:-) near :aris, <rance
(that's the same old platinum9iridium cylinder mentioned before).
3ork is now being done to redefine the kilogram standard in terms of either a
particular number of atoms of some type or another, or by means of electrical
units and force on a coil, thus determining the mass of the coil in kilograms
with extreme precision, but the 7nternational $tandard has still not been agreed
upon.
-ow after reading all of this, you may wonder why the metric system should
matter, and why on earth should we be doing our physics homework in itF
*ell, as $ wrote at the beginning of this section, All measurements re'uire
agreed)upon standards, and standards are what the community agrees will be
the basic measurement against which to compare all of our measurements. *e
need to reali8e that the word community refers to the whole world now.
6nly the 1nited =tates, 5iberia "in west Africa# and /urma "now known as
,yanmar, in southeast Asia# do not have an official policy of converting to the
metric system. $n %H3% =ecretary of =tate +ohn ;uincy Adams, advocated the
adoption of the metric system, in a report to (ongress, which would have made
us among the first nations to adapt the metric system, but alas, it was not
adopted then. As a student in Ligh =chool, $ was told that the 1nited =tates
37 +ump to Table of (ontents
was converting to the metric system, and that was over thirty years agoD The
1nited =tates has been losing trade steadily, due "at least in part# to the fact that
people in other countries do not wish to purchase tools and parts that are not to
metric standards.
Laving two "or more# different standards for measurement systems in the
world can cause ma.or problems and large expenses. $n %JJH a -A=A
spacecraft going to ,ars called ,ars (limate 6rbiter was lost burning up in the
,artian atmosphere. The -A=A mission specification had called for metric
units, but one contractor provided thruster data to the team using 0nglish units
instead of metric units. The misunderstanding over data units caused a
computer program error that placed the space craft too close to ,ars on orbital
insertion. This caused the craft to burn up in the ,artian atmosphere, thus
losing a P73G.& million mission.
The other ma.or reason to use the metric system for all of our physics
homework is that pretty much all physics everywhere in the world uses the
metric system. =cience in general and physics in particular have been in the
past and are presently very international in nature, and thus early on scientists in
the world had to settle upon a common system of measurements, and the metric
system was it. *hen $ was taking my first college physics course, the textbook
used both metric and /ritish units "which made it much more difficult#.
For this class we will use the following metric measurements:
5ength ) the unit is a .eter "slightly more than a yard in the 0nglish system#
Time ) the unit is a second "almost exactly the same as the 0nglish system#
,ass ) the unit is the kilo-ra. "or %??? grams#
Bolume ) this is length
7
, so the unit is .
3
( c.
3
( or deci.eter
3
(which is a
liter$.
The metric system uses the following prefixes to indicate what the basic
measurement unit is multiplied by "the light blue "italics# ones are the ones that
are used commonly in this textbook, and should be memori8ed#:
3< +ump to Table of (ontents
For example, Qm is a micrometer, and is a unit that is one millionth of a meter
in length "which is much smaller than you can see with the naked eye#.
!.! 5eas+re.ents
$n order for physics to make 'uantitative predictions "that is predictions that
have actual numerical values#, measurements have to be made of the starting
values. All measurements in physics have three important re'uirements. The
actual number, the units, and the number of significant digits. For example, if
3E +ump to Table of (ontents
Table !." 5etric Pre1ixes +sed 1or * +nits
,ultiplica
tion
Factor
refix =ymbol
%?
%E
peta
%?
%3
tera T
?5
D
giga *
?5
A
mega -
?5
=
kilo k
%?
3
hecto h
%?
%
deca da
%?
)%
deci d
?5
94
centi c
?5
9=
milli m
?5
9A
micro H
?5
9D
nano n
%?
)%3
pico p
%?
)%E
femto f
you used a scale and measured the mass of a block of lead to be %.3G< kg, the
value would be %.3G<, the units would be kilograms, and there would be <
significant digits to the measurement.
The terms si-ni1icant di-its and si-ni1icant 1i-+res are used almost
synonymously. They refer to the number of digits in the measurement that are
actual values for the measurement, and not .ust placeholders in the
measurement. Always remember that significant digits are .ust a 'uick but
slightly cruder method of stating clearly what the measurement error is of an
actual measurement.
The units have to be given for each measurement, as part o1 the
.eas+re.ent. This is critical in physics "and every other branch of science#,
because we donIt know how much of any thing is being measured without the
unitsD For example, let us measure a 'uantity of apples. *ould it make a
difference if $ told you that $ was giving you 7 crates of apples or 7 applesF
(ertainlyD /oth are measurements of the apples that you will be receiving, but
clearly the amount of the apples you receive depends upon the unit after the
7. *ithout the unit being given, you really canIt tell the amount of apples, or
any other thing that you might be measuring. =ince this is so important in
physics, it is a rule that ?any .eas+re.ent .+st incl+de the +nits as part o1
the .eas+re.ents@B <ote( as sho,n belo, that even the slope has +nitsB
his can also be shown to be a little different from a pure mathematics class
by looking at the two following graphs shown in <igure 4.?. hese both
describe the position of an ob2ect along a very long straight track versus the
time shown on a digital timer. (his is a motion problem and really belongs in
the next chapter, but you have probably seen many similar problems in math
textbooks, but perhaps without the units part.)
3& +ump to Table of (ontents
Now in <igure 4.? above, it looks like *raph & on the right has lower slope
than *raph ; on the left, but when units are taken into account, that is not
correct. <or *raph &, the slope is calculated using the standard rise over run
definition asC
slope
&
=
rise
run
=
y
x
=
3 km
7 hrs
=
3??? m
%?H?? s
= ?.%HE
m
s
whereasC slope
;
=
rise
run
=
y
x
=
7 m
3 min
=
7m
%3?s
= ?.?3E
m
s
$howing that when units are taken into account, the slope of *raph & on the left
is actually larger than the slope of *raph ; on the right. 7t is important to note
that the slope of a graph with units is N# a pure number like the slopes of
most math textbooks, but the slope also has units!
3G +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re !." 2raph A has a slope of ?.%HE m@s, while 2raph / has a slope of
?.?3E m@s, which means that when the scaling factor of units is taken
account, 2raph A on the left actually has a hi-her slope than 2raph / on
the rightD
!
i
s
t
a
n
c
e

"
k
i
l
o
m
e
t
e
r
s
#
Ax C < min > 3 min C 3 min
0 1 3 2 4
1
2
3
0
4
5
Time "hours#
0 1 3 2 4
1
2
3
0
4
5
Time "minutes#
!
i
s
t
a
n
c
e

"
m
e
t
e
r
s
#
A
y

C

<

k
m

>

3

k
m

C

3

k
m
A %
A
y

C

<

m

>

%

m

C

7

m
Ax C < hr > % hr C 7 hr
7f it is hard to understand this, then think about a graph using 2ust pure
numbers without units. Iou normally think of a slope of BF degrees as being
!?" since the rise and the run are the same. $uppose instead that the scale on
the vertical axis was values of ?5 (ie 5, ?5, 45, =5, J) instead. hen your slope
of BF degrees would be !?5" since your rise would be ?5 times the run along
the BF degree line% he units can act like that scaling factor sometimes. (ook
at <igure 4.4 for an example of thisC
3H +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re !.! 3ithout )nits, but when the graphs are scaled differently, we
see the on the right seems much more steep, but is actually a smaller
slope value than the one on the right that seems not to be as steep%
)nits cause the same effects as scaling the axes.
M

a
x
i
s

v
a
l
u
e
s
A
y

C

<
?

>

3
?

C

3
?
0 1 3 2 4
10
20
30
0
40
50
R axis values
"slope C 3?#
0 1 3 2 4
1
2
3
0
4
5
R axis values
"slope C 3#
M

a
x
i
s

v
a
l
u
e
s
Ax C < > 3 C 3
A
%
A
y

C

E

>

%

C


<
Ax C < > % C 7
!.3 5eas+re.ent 8rrors
$ should probably start this section off by stating that $ think the term
measurement error is actually somewhat in error itselfD Anytime that
something is being measured with any measurement instrument such as a meter
stick, weighing scale, stopwatch, etc., there is going to be measurement error.
This is not saying that there is a mistake in the making of the measurement.
$t is saying that it is impossible for any measurement to be exactly and perfectly
correct, and that the measurement error is .ust an indicator of how accurately
we actually know this particular measurement to beD
5etIs take the example of the location of a baseball as it is being pitched to
go by the batter. At any split)second in time, the ball has a location. The batter
must use the information from his senses to strike the ball in exactly the correct
location "and with exactly the correct speed# to cause the the ballIs changed
velocity to provide a winning solutionD /ut what is meant by exactlyF ,ust
the location be known within the distance of a meterF AbsolutelyD *hat about
a tenth of a meterF Mes, that would clearly make a difference in the resulting
motion of the ball after being hitD *hat about a centimeter "%@%??th of a
meter#F That might make a slight difference in the resulting tra.ectory of the
ball, and might make a difference between an outfielder catching the ball or not.
*hat about a millimeterF That would probably not make a difference in the
final score result, but it .ust mightD *hat if you didnIt know the location by the
width of an atomF (hances are good that it wouldnIt make any difference in the
outcome, but how can you be sureF
-ow letIs think about how we could measure the location. *e could have a
video camera on the side and check the live video of the ball passing by the
camera, but there are two ways that we could have an error. The video camera
might not be placed correctly "within a centimeter or two# and so we
misinterpret the resulting image of the ball as being slightly incorrect. $n this
case however, all measurements would be off by the same amount until the
camera was relocated. This is a limit in the accuracy of measuremeht of the
camera. The other error would be that the ball was slightly blurry "it is after all
moving rapidly#, so everytime you try to measure the exact center you get a
slightly different answer. This is the limit of the precision of the measurement.
3J +ump to Table of (ontents
)sually we would state this knowledge as an actual percentage error. &n
example of this would be measuring a length of ?.4= meters but knowing that
we could be off on the measurement by anything up to a millimeter. 3e would
normally have to write this as ?.4== m (K 5.55? m).
7? +ump to Table of (ontents
Precision vers+s Acc+racy
There are two main types of measurement error in science. They have
to do with precision and accuracy. These two things are not the same
thing in a scientific measurement.
recision is basically how closely you "or someone else# using your
measuring instrument can come to repeating the same measurement,
but it does not say anything about whether your measuring instrument
is correctly calibrated or not.
Accuracy is how close to a true value your measurement is, and thus
you are comparing your measurement to the measurement of someone
using a much better measuring instrument "and probably much more
expensive#.
An example of this could be thought of as using a slightly warped
wooden meter stick. Mou might have the precision of the
measurement as S % mm, but unknown to you, the wooden meter stick
might have stretched from heat at one time or another, and now gives
you measurement readings that are only S 7 mm when compared to
the high precision metal meter stick kept in the back room.
*hen looking at both measurement errors in the classroom, we are
usually referring to the precision with which the student can read the
measuring instrument, combined with the accuracy of the measuring
instrument. The accuracy is usually either assumed to be very much
better than the precision, and not given "like a meter stick#, or is set by
the limit of the reading or the S error given on the measuring
instrument "such as the last digit on a digital scale#.
7f we converted this to a percentage error, this would be ?.4== m (K 5.5G?>)
since
?.??% m
%.377 m
%??
= 5.5G?>. here is a whole field of study called error
analysis that delves deeply into how accurate measurements are and how these
errors compound as several .uantities with known measurement errors are
added, subtracted, multiplied, or divided. 3e will not go into this field of study,
but rather will focus upon the use of significant digits as a simple and fairly
accurate way of determining how accurately a measurement is known, as well
as how to compound these errors when adding or multiplying various
.uantities.
7% +ump to Table of (ontents
!.# i-ni1icant )i-its and cienti1ic <otation
The number of significant digits of a measurement is the number of digits
that are known with certainty plus any digit that is partially certain. For
example, if $ measured the mass of an ob.ect as 7<& grams using a scale, and
the scale is only accurate to ?.E grams, then there would be 7 significant
digits, since the measurement could range from down to 7<&.? > ?.E gm C 7<E.E
gm, or all the way up to 7<&.JJ T ?.E gm C 7<G.<J gm. The digit that is really
uncertain in the original measurement was the & or the units column.
73 +ump to Table of (ontents
cienti1ic <otation
* ,ill ass+.e that yo+ are 1a.iliar ,ith scienti1ic notation( b+t ,ill
-ive a C+ick overvie, here. cienti1ic notation 1or a n+.ber is
,hen the n+.ber is ,ritten as a .antissa 1ollo,ed by an
exponent po,er o1 "0. For exa.ple( i1 yo+ have 6.79 x "0# then
this isD
The .antissa is al,ays a sin-le di-it 1ollo,ed by a deci.al point( and
as .any other di-its as are si-ni1icant.
The exponent is the po,er o1 "0 that represents ,hat the .antissa is
.+ltiplied by. Eo+ can also think o1 it as ho, .any places to
.ove the deci.al point. For the exa.ple above( yo+ ,o+ld .ove
the deci.al point # places to the ri-ht and the n+.ber 6.79 x "0
#
is act+ally the sa.e as 67(900 except the last t,o Feros are
act+ally +nkno,n( and the n+.ber is act+ally 67(900 G "00.
This works .ust as well for negative powers, so for E.&G x %?
)<
you would
multiply by %?
)<
which is one ten thousandth or ?.???%. This would
move the decimal place < places to the left and the number is actually
?.???E&G S ?.?????% "itIs still the G that is significant#.
Mou can see that scientific notation is useful in that it clearly shows all
significant digits, and is much easier to write for extremely large
numbers and extremely small numbers "ones with lots of 8eros#.
E.&G %?
<
mantissa
exponent
The main problem with significant digits shows up especially when the
leading digit is close to J or %. This means that it is close to the point of change
of significant digits. For example, suppose you are measuring some lengths,
and one measurement is J.J cm, while the next is %?.% cm. -ow if both of these
can only be measured to the nearest %@%?
th
of a cm, then the first has an error of
"?.%cm@J.Jcm# or %.?%U, while the second has an error of "?.%cm@%?.%cm# or
?.JJU. $n both cases the actual errors are very close, but the number of
significant digits has .umped from 3 significant digits in the first case, to 7
significant digits in the second caseD
The number of significant digits in a problem may not be absolutely clear.
For example, take the number H?. Are there one or two significant digitsF $f
you say it is about H? km between cities then there is only one significant digit
"the H# since the ? is .ust a place holder, but if you say it is exactly H? km
between cities, then there are two digits "the H and the ?#. <or.ally 1or this
textbook( $ will not use 8eros as place holders, but will assume all digits are
significant, so if $ want to describe a distance of about H?? km "one significant
digit# $ will do so by specifying with the word "about H?? km# or use the
approximate symbol "V H?? km#, or much more accurately, $ will use scienti1ic
notation and thus write out H x %?
3
km.

*hen adding or subtracting two numbers with a certain number of
significant digits, the rightmost significant figure will be determined by the
leftmost digitIs place at which an uncertain number occurs in either of the
measurements.
77 +ump to Table of (ontents
For example, if you were adding two masses of chemicals together:
%E&.E gm "using a less precise but greater range scale#
T ?.EEG gm "using a more precise scale that is
)))))))))))))))) limited to only %? grams#
%EG.% gm
because the top number is uncertain in the tenths column, and that sets
the uncertainty, because it does not good to know the second number to a
ten thousandths, if it is added to a number that could be off by a tenthD
*hen multiplying or dividing measurements, the product or 'uotient cannot
have any more significant digits than the least number of significant digits in
the two measurements.
There are two ma.or exceptions when calculating significant digits. $f the
number is a pure mathematical 'uantity like W for instance, it is regarded as
having as many significant digits as needed, but you must use the full value of W
on your calculator "and not .ust the short and slightly inaccurate value of 7.%<#.
Also, if one of the numbers is treated as an integer in mathematics, like you are
finding the lab bench area in a laboratory and there are H essentially identical
lab benches, you would measure the length and width of one and then multiply
its calculated area by exactly &, but your significant digits would have be
determined based upon your length and width significant digits "whichever has
fewer# and the H is regarded as an integer having as many significant digits as
needed. This is true whenever you count an integer number of a 'uantity, and it
is .ust assumed that you donIt make an actual error counting, so be carefulD
-ote that as far as units go, you cannot add or subtract measurements with
different units unless one of the measurements units can be converted into the
other. For example, 3 cm can be added to 7 mm only by first converting the 7
mm into ?.7 cm or by converting the 3 cm into 3? mm. And it makes no sense
to try to add 7 cm to E kg, since length and mass cannot be converted from one
7< +ump to Table of (ontents
For example, if you were trying to find the volume of a long narrow rod,
you would measure its length "l#, and measure its radius "half diameter#
and find its volume by using the formula l W r
3
:
H&.E cm "using a stick#
x W "?.7 cm#
3
"using a stick#
))))))))))))))))
V3? cm
7
or 3.? x %?
%
cm
7
"which is 3<.<EG cm
7
limited to the two
significant digits permitted#
0ven though the length and the radius are accurate to ?.?% cm, the
percentage error on the radius is much larger since the number measured
is smaller.
to the otherD /efore adding two measurements, make sure the units are the
same.
Mou can, however, multiply or divide measurements with different unitsD $f
you do so, you must multiply or divide the units also, and leave the result as the
new units of the calculation. =ometimes the new calculated units will have
already been defined in physics to a new defined unit. For example, energy has
the units of .oules which is defined to be
kgm
3
sec
3
.
Thus, as you calculate the new units, if you see that your units are
kgm
3
sec
3
,
then there is a good chance that you have calculated a 'uantity for energy, and
may change it to + for .oule. "/e careful, as sometimes the calculated 'uantity
is not actually energy, and you had best leave it in the mixed units above.# 0ven
if you are multiplying or dividing by the same unit, you must also multiply the
units. For example, suppose you are measuring the volume of a cube and you
measure it as "3 cm#
7
, this is 3 cm x 3 cm x 3 cm C H cm
7
. 9emember that if
the 7 for the cube sign is not outside a parentheses as in the H cm
7
then it is .ust
the units that are cubed and not the measurement numerical value of H.
*hen rounding off calculations of measurements, if the digit being dropped
is < or less round down "donIt change preceding digit#, and if E or more, then
round up "increase preceding digit by %#.
Avoid the te.ptation to incl+de all the di-its presented by yo+r
calc+lator. !igits should not be 'uoted or written down unless they are truly
significant, or you are lying to your reader. Mou sho+ld use more digits in your
intermediate calculations, but you must correctly show your true significant
digits in your final answer.
7E +ump to Table of (ontents
!.6 2onversions and )i.ensional Analysis
$t is very common in physics and science to need to convert from one
'uantity to another. 6ne thing to remember is that what you are finished with
must actually be the same as what you started with. The standard way to do this
is to use the multiply by one rule. $n any conversion, you .ust multiply by
one to get the new converted 'uantity. This re'uires the correct conversion to
be known. 5ets take an example of trying to convert your carIs speed. =uppose
you were in a country that used the metric system and you had an American car
that had a speedometer calibrated in miles@hour. Mou know that you are limited
to a speed of &? km@hr, and your speedometer is reading <E miles@hour. To
determine your speed in km@hr you need to know that:
% mi C %.&?J km
-ote in this conversion, the left side is assumed to be a perfect integer "an
infinite number of significant digits#, while the right side gives the information
of how many significant digits this conversion has. From the relationship
above, you can divide both sides by % mi. =' divide both sides by %.&?J km
and you would get the 'uantity of %. Thus all of the following are ways of
getting %:
% mi
%.&?J km
= ?.&3%E
mi
km
= % =
%.&?J km
%mi
= %.&?J
km
mi
=o, back to our original problem, to convert <E mi@hr to km@hr you multiply
the <E mi@hr by the %.&?J km@mi above "you choose that value of % because
you need the mi to cancel# as follows:
<Emi
%hr

%.&?J km
% mi
=
G3.<km
% hr
= G3
km
hr
*hich means you had better slow down since you are in a &? km@hr 8one, and
you are going too fastD
1sing dimensional analysis means that you keep track of your units, and in
the final answer, the dimensional units should match what you need for your
7& +ump to Table of (ontents
answer. For example, if you keep track and cancel your units properly, and
your answer to a problem needs to be in units of time, your answer will have to
have units of seconds, hours, days, years, etc. $f you have a final answer in
hours@meter then your answer is in units of time per length, and this should be
an important warning that you have made a mistake in your solutionD $f your
units are in error, then probably your numerical answer is also, and you should
find your mistake before moving on.
!.7 5eas+re.ent 8sti.ations
A very useful tool for solving problems is to do an estimation of the answer.
=ometimes this is used to see if our true answer is in the ballpark of being
correct ".ust a 'uick check if our answer could be correct#. =ometimes it is
used to find an approximate answer when you donIt really know some of the
'uantities to an exact number of significant digits. A good rule of thumb while
making estimates is that while significant digits do not have the standard
meaning in the answer that is being found, usually only one "or at most two#
significant digits can be shown for the estimated answer. For example, if you
were to try to estimate how many liters of water are needed to fill a swimming
pool in your backyardF First you have to estimate the si8e of the pool.
Lowever, you donIt get out your meter stick to check it, but using the rule)of)
thumb that a meter is slightly more than a yard, you look at the pool and
estimate that it is < m wide, and H m long. -ow you know that it is 7 ft deep at
the short end and & ft deep at the deep end, so you estimate that it is about % m
deep at the short end "7 ft V % yd V %m# and 3 m deep at the deep end "& ft V 3
yd V 3 m# or about %.E m deep on average. Thus the total volume can be
estimated by using the calculation:
B C 5ength x *idth x !epth C H m x < m x % X m V <H m
7
.
-ow there are %??? liters per % m
7
, we can estimate that the pool holds about
E?,??? litersD =ince this is also E x %?
<
liters, this type of calculation is
sometimes called an order of magnitude calculationD
7G +ump to Table of (ontents
2hapter ! +..ary
". ,easurements re'uire agreed)upon standards, and standards are what the
community agrees will be the basic measurement against which to compare
all of our measurements. This textbook and most of the physics community
uses the metric system "sometimes called the =$ system#.
!. For this class ,e ,ill +se the 1ollo,in- .etric .eas+re.entsD
5ength ) the unit is a .eter "slightly more than a yard in the 0nglish system#
Time ) the unit is a second "almost exactly the same as the 0nglish system#
,ass ) the unit is the kilo-ra. "or %??? grams#
Bolume ) this is length
7
, so the unit is .
3
( c.
3
( or deci.eter
3
(or a liter$.
3. The .etric syste. is based +pon base "0( so the 1ollo,in- pre1ixes .+st
be .e.oriFed.
,ultiplication
Factor
refix =ymbol
?5
D
giga *
?5
A
mega -
?5
=
kilo k
?5
94
centi c
?5
9=
milli m
?5
9A
micro H
?5
9D
nano n
#. The terms si-ni1icant di-its and si-ni1icant 1i-+res are used almost
synonymously. They refer to the number of digits in the measurement that
are actual values for the measurement, and not .ust placeholders in the
measurement. Always remember that significant digits are .ust a 'uick but
slightly cruder method of stating clearly what the measurement error is of an
actual measurement.
6. The units have to be given for each measurement, as part o1 the
.eas+re.ent.
7. 5eas+re.ent 8rrors.
Precision is basically how closely you "or someone else# using your
measuring instrument can come to repeating the same measurement, but it
7H +ump to Table of (ontents
does not say anything about whether your measuring instrument is correctly
calibrated or not.
Acc+racy is how close to a true value your measurement is, and thus you
are comparing your measurement to the measurement of someone using a
much better measuring instrument.
<or.ally 1or this textbook( $ will not use 8eros as place holders, but will
assume all digits are significant, so if $ want to describe a distance of about
H?? km "one significant digit# $ will do so by specifying with the ,ord "about
H?? km# or use the approximate sy.bol "V H?? km#, or much more
accurately, $ will use scienti1ic notation and thus write out H x %?
3
km.
9. cienti1ic notation for a number is when the number is written as a
mantissa followed by an exponent power of %?. For example, if you have
E.&G x %?
<
then this is:
The mantissa is always a single digit followed by
a decimal point, and as many other digits as are
significant.
:. *hen addin- or s+btractin- .eas+re.ents with a certain number of
significant digits, the rightmost significant figure will be determined by the
leftmost digitIs place at which an uncertain number occurs in either of the
measurements.
*hen m+ltiplyin- or dividin- .eas+re.ents, the product or 'uotient
cannot have any more significant digits than the least number of significant
digits in the two measurements.
9. 2onversions use the multiply by one rule. $n any conversion, you .ust
multiply by one to get the new converted 'uantity, where that value of % is the
units conversion. $f you had miles and wanted to convert it to km, you would
multiply the number of miles by
%.&%km
% mi
"since %.&% km C % mi#. )i.ensional
Analysis means that you keep track of your units, and in the final answer, the
dimensional units should match what you need for your answer.
"0. 5eas+re.ent 8sti.ations is a very useful tool for solving problems.
=ometimes this is used to see if our true answer is in the ballpark of being
correct ".ust a 'uick check if your answer co+ld be correct#. =ometimes it is
used to find an approximate answer when you donIt really know some of the
'uantities to an exact number of significant digits.
7J +ump to Table of (ontents
E.&G %?
<
mantissa
exponent
2hapter 3. 3hat is 5otion4
3." )e1inin- 5otion
,otion is something that everybody understands, but it is actually pretty
hard to pin down an exact definition of the term. 6ne of the most difficult
aspects of motion is that not all ob.ects are rigid or keep one shape. A second
difficult aspect is that "in physics# there are really several different types of
motion. For example, everyone has an intuitive idea of the motion of a thrown
baseball, and could make a fairly good attempt to describe its motion, but trying
to describe a river flowing down to the ocean or a beating heart would be a lot
more difficult to describe. For this textbook, $ will list four different types of
motion, and most kinds of motion "that physics deals with# are actually a
combination of one or more of these.
For this textbook, the four types of motion are:
Translational Motion L changing location of a point ob2ect along a path.
otational Motion L the change of orientation (or the angle that an ob2ect
faces).
!ibrational "#scillatory Motion$ L the change in an ob2ect's position that
occurs in a periodic manner.
%luid Motion L where the !ob2ect" can be changing shape (and perhaps
density) at the same time.
*hile the other types of motion will be dealt with later, we will focus on
translational motion for the remainder of this chapter.
=o lets look at translational motion for an ob.ect like a ball. $f we are going
to neglect for now other types of motion "such as rotation or vibration# we first
need to decide how to determine where the ball really * at any time. This is
where that term point ob.ect $ used above comes in. 1sually we choose a
point on the surface of the ball or since the ball is a sphere, we can choose the
exact center of the ball. $f we say that the ball is in motion, we mean that
during a period of time, it is changing its position or location. =ounds good so
far, but suppose it is .ust resting in oneIs hand. -ow we can say that it * <=T
in motion because it does not change its position during a period of time, 69 if
<? +ump to Table of (ontents
we remember that the entire 0arth is moving around the =un, then we reali8e
that the person and ball must also be moving around the =un as well, and thus
the ball * movingD 6ops, this is getting a little more complicatedD
=o now, we can resolve this by saying that:
Translational motion occurs when an ob2ect changes it's position relative to a
reference ob&ect during a period of time, and unless otherwise specified, the
reference ob2ect will be the earth.
Thus for the ball illustrated above, the ball is not in motion relative to the
0arth, as shown in the left half of Figure 7.%, but the ball '( in motion relative
to the =un "as is the 0arth also# as shown in the right half of Figure 7.%. $f we
donIt mention that term relative to ...., then it is assumed that the reference
ob.ect is the earth, and we would .ust say that the ball is not moving.
Note that the term )a reference ob&ect* is used rather than )a reference
point*+ , reference point may be referring to a location on a reference
ob&ect- or to an abstract reference point in space- but that abstract reference
point in space- "not being an ob&ect$ cannot actually be determined to be in
motion relative to anything else+
<% +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 3." $s the stationary ball in motion, when the 0arth is movingF
0arth
0arth
Belocity
Belocity
*dentical 4
ball ball
3.! 5eas+re.ents o1 .otion (peed and Velocity$

-ow 'ualitatively, you can say that a turtle is slow, or that a racing hare is fast,
but in physics we usually need to put numbers and units to a 'uantity like
motion in order to be able to study it, and make predictions about it. First we
need to make a clear distinction between two different, but related concepts in
physics. These are the concepts of speed and velocity. These words are used in
the 0nglish language almost interchangeably. $n physics, however, they have
related but distinct meanings.
The term speed is used to measure how fast an ob.ect is moving. $t is a ratio
between the distance that the ob.ect moves along some path divided by the time
that it takes to move that distance. Thus, as long as we are discussing an actual
amount of time, the speed we are discussing is actually an average speed for
that time period or change in time.
average speed=
distance traveled
change in time
or
s =
d
t
For this e'uation, there are two things you must know. The bar over the s@
indicates an average value, and the A symbol "a 2reek symbol called delta#
means how much the 'uantity has changed. =o At is the change in time or the
amount of time that has passed. =o if the start time were ? sec., and the end
time were 7 sec, then At is e'ual to the final time minus the initial time "written
as t
f
> t
i
C At#.
The term velocity is used to measure not only how fast an ob.ect is moving, but
in what direction it is moving alsoD Thus velocity can be thought of as
combining both how fast the ob.ect is moving with the actual direction that it is
moving. Again, as long as we are discussing an actual amount of time, the
velocity we are discussing is actually an average velocity for that time period
or change in time.
average velocity =
total displacement
change in time
or
v =
x
t
The reason that this is velocity rather than speed is the fact that we are
<3 +ump to Table of (ontents
dealing with displace.ent rather than distance. )isplace.ent is a change in
position, and while it does include a distance measurement, it also includes the
direction "we shall see later that this makes displacement a vector, and distance
a scaler#D The direction will be indicated as either positive or negative if the
motion is linear, or some other way if a 3)dimensional or a 7)dimensional
problem is being worked on.
-ow .ust as in the average speed e'uation, the bar above the v means an
average value, and the A stands for the change in the 'uantity "which is .ust the
final value minus the initial value#. 6ops, notice that even though displacement
starts with a d we are using the letter x to indicate the variable for
displacement "or change of distance with direction#. 2et used to this. $n
physics, the centuries of tradition in listing individual letters for various physics
'uantities and concepts does not always make sense. =ometimes it is because a
letter is already taken for another concept, and sometimes it is because the
concept in another language starts with another letter, but .ust get used to
memori8ing various symbols standing for various values sometime using the
first letter, and sometimes not.
=ince velocity must include direction, you must list the actual direction in
some way, depending upon the problem. $f your problem is linear motion
"motion along a straight line# then the direction is usually given by placing a
plus or a minus sign in front of the 'uantity, but before that you must assign one
direction to be the plus direction and one to be the minus direction on the line.
5ets look at the Figure 7.3 shown below with a rider on a unicycle with a set of
taped numbers exactly one meter apart on the ground below. A unicycle rider is
often changing his speed and velocity back and forth "he may be a bit
wobbly#, but these are snapshots of the split)second times when he is at these
positions.
<7 +ump to Table of (ontents
$f the unicycle rider from ?.? m to 7.? m in 3.? seconds then:

s =
d
t
=
7.? m
3.? s
= %.E
m
s
for the speed

v =
x
t
=
7.? m?.?m
3.? s
= %.E
m
s
for velocity
$n this case the speed and velocity appear to be the same, and you have to
reali8e from the context of the problem that the speed of %.E m@s does not tell
you which direction the motion was, while the velocity of %.E m@s tells you that
the direction of the motion was forward in the positive direction "or to the right
in the figure above#.
-ow lets look at another example shown in Figure 7.7 below in which the
unicycle rider is going in the other direction "from %.? m to )3.? m#.
<< +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re 3.! 1nicycle rider on giant track "from ?.? m to 7.? m#
? % 3 7
<
)3 )% )7 )<
Fi-+re 3.3 1nicycle rider on giant track "from %.? m to )3.? m#
? % 3 7
<
)3 )% )7 )<
$f the unicycle rider went from %.? m to )3.? m in 3.? seconds then:

s =
d
t
=
7.? m
3.? s
= %.E
m
s
for the speed

v =
x
t
=
3.? m%.? m
3.? s
= %.E
m
s
for velocity
$n this case the speed is the same as for Fig. 7.3 since the distance traveled is
the same "7.? m#, but the velocity has changed since the displacement "which is
final position minus initial position# is now in the negative direction, indicating
that the motion is reversed from the positive direction, and thus is in the
negative direction "or toward the left in the figure above#.
-otice that for the above measurements of motion the values given are the
average speed and average velocity for certain periods of time "3.? seconds for
the above examples#. The actual speed or velocity at any instant in time may or
may not be this value at all. For example, as anyone who has seen a unicycle
rider will know, the motion is generally in one direction, but is varying from
one moment to the next a great deal. 5ets focus for now on the actual position
of this unicycle rider for the examples given in Figures 7.3 and 7.7 above. This
can be most easily accomplished by using two graphs showing the position
versus time for each of the cases.
<E +ump to Table of (ontents
-otice in Figure 7.< above that the average velocity is actually .ust the slope
of the dashed line shown between the points indicated. The definition of slope
from most math classes is the rise over the run. $n this case the rise is
change in the vertical axis of the graph, which is the change in position "which
can be negative if the unicyclist is moving to the left#. The run is the change in
time, which is always assumed to be positive, "unless we can somehow reverse
time#. The rise over the run in this case is .ust the slope of each of the two
dashed lines given.
1nlike most math classes that are very casual about units, we note that units
are extremely important in the slopes of the graphs for the figures above.
=uppose we had measured the 1nicyclistIs velocity in centimeters rather than
meters. =ince the 1nicyclist actually moved forward by 7.? m, this would now
be 7?? cm, and now our new slope would be 7?? cm over 3.? s, which would
be %E? cm@sD This seems to be a huge slope, and indeed if you did a graph with
each centimeter being the same length as the meter on the previous graph, the
slope would be so steep as to be almost a vertical line. $n physics, where units
are part of any measurement, these slopes would actually be exactly the same,
.ust given with different units. *e can see this with the units conversion
<& +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re 3.# 1nicycle 9ider going Forward, and 1nicycle 9ider going
/ackward

o
s
i
t
i
o
n

"
m
#
?
)%
)3
)7
)<
%
3
7
<
% 3
7
Time "s#

o
s
i
t
i
o
n

"
m
#
?
)%
)3
)7
)<
%
3
7
<
% 3
7
Time "s#

v =
7.? m?.?m
3.? s
=%.E
m
s

v =
3.? m%.? m
3.? s
=%.E
m
s
"multiplying by one again#:
7.?
m
s
=
7.? m
%.? s

%??cm
%m
=
7?? cm
% s
= 7??
cm
s
Thus, you need to remember that the angle of the line on a graph "using units#
does not actually tell you what the slope of the line is +nless the +nits are
-ivenB
-ow so far we have used average values for each slope given. -ote in
Figure 7.<, that $ have placed solid dots at the times and positions of the
1nicyclist and connected them with dashed lines. These dashed lines indicate
that this is my best guess as to the location of the 1nicyclist at each moment in
time. The slope of these dashed lines is the average velocity for each of these
time periods. /ut suppose we were somehow able to look more closely at each
of the graphs on a moment)by)moment basis. 9emember how wobbly a
unicyclist often is. As seen by these graphs, sometimes he is actually moving in
the opposite direction of where his average velocity is.
<G +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re 3.6 Actual "and -6T linear# motion of the 1nicyclist is shown.

v =
7.? m?.? m
3.? s
=%.E
m
s

v =
3.? m%.? m
3.? s
=%.E
m
s
Time "s#
<

o
s
i
t
i
o
n

"
m
#
?
)%
)3
)7
)<
%
3
7
<
% 3
7
A
/
?
)%
)3
)7
)<
%
3
7
% 3
7
A
/

o
s
i
t
i
o
n

"
m
#
Time "s#
Mou can see in Figure 7.E above that if you calculated the slope of the line at
the points A for each motion, you would get a slope fairly close to the true
average slope for the entire two seconds of each motion. Lowever, if you chose
points / for each motion, you would find a slope that is vastly different, and
even in the opposite direction from the average slope for the entire time periodD
The slope of a position versus time curve at any point in time "which is the
slope of a line tangent to the curve at that point# is called the instantaneo+s
val+e of the velocity at that instant in time. $t is a velocity that, if it continued
unchanging for a period of time, would determine how your position would
change during that entire period of time.
he instantaneous velocity is an abstract mathematical concept that can
often be very hard to measure in actual physical experiments. his abstract
mathematical concept is based upon the concept of a limit. 7t is actually
defined as the limit of Ax over At as At approaches zeroC
instantaneous velocity = v = lim
t ?
x
t
<H +ump to Table of (ontents
3.3 2han-in- Velocity ,itho+t 2han-in- peed
-ow at this point we need to focus on some of the differences between speed
and velocity. =ince velocity has direction, it is possible to be changing velocity
continuously while having the exact same speed. This is easily seen in the case
of a race car driver on a circular race car track shown in Figure 7.& below:
-otice that for Figure 7.&, the velocity arrows show the direction of the
velocity at that point on the track. Thus the velocity is changing direction
constantly and thus by the definition of velocity, the velocity is changing
constantly even though the speed "length of the arrow$ is staying the same!
This can explain some of the more unusual aspects of average velocity
caused by its definition. $f the driver of the above 9ace (ar on the track was
going around a circular track of a diameter of %.?? km, and does one complete
circuit in &.?? seconds "which is one)tenth of an hour#, then the speed will be:
<J +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 3.7 9ace (ar driving around a circular 9ace (ar
Track. The /lue solid arrows show the direction of the
Belocity at each point on the track.
Belocity
!irections
Force
(enter
9ed =tarting
oint

s =
d
t
=
%.?? km
?.%?? hr
= 7%.<
km
hr
%/T the average velocity will be:

v =
x
t
=
?.? m
3.? s
= ?.?
km
hr
This is because the starting point and the stopping point are the same position,
meaning that the total displacement is 8ero, making the average velocity also
8ero.
-ow if the race car only goes halfway around the track, from the red s'uare to
the green triangle, with a time of only 7.?? seconds "X of ?.%?? hr# in Figure
7.&, then we have the following situation that:

s =
d
t
=
%
3
%.??km
%
3
?.%?? hr
= 7%.<
km
hr
%/T the average velocity will be:

-ote that the average velocity needs to have a defined direction, so we choose
the usual compass directions, and the average velocity is directly westward for
proceeding halfway around the track.
E? +ump to Table of (ontents

v =
x
t
=
%.??km
%
3
?.%?? hr
= 3?
km
hr
3estward
3.# 2han-e o1 5otion (Acceleration$
$ will start this section with a slight tirade about an aspect of many math
textbooks. As $ mentioned before, math textbooks are often very careless "from
a physics teacherIs perspective# concerning units in calculations. The one term
that $ really get upset about is when a math textbook uses the term rate in a
manner that is clearly being used as speed or velocity. The term rate is typically
used as a ratio between two 'uantities, often with the lower 'uantity being time.
Thus you can have a rate of drops@minute for a leaky faucet. There are,
however, many different rates in physics, usually being some 'uantity per
time, and we have to be specific about which rate we mean. Thus both speed
and velocity are rates usually measured in physics with meters@second, but
velocity has to include the direction as well. Another extremely important rate
that is used, is when there is a change of motion. The rate of change of
motion is called acceleration, and is defined as the following:
-ow since velocity has direction, then any change in velocity must also have
direction "except for the odd case of 8ero change of velocity or 8ero
acceleration#D Thus acceleration, like velocity, must also always have a
directionD This is a little hard to grasp, but velocity is how fast your position is
changing with time, while acceleration is how fast your velocity is changing
with time.
$f the ob.ect is staying in the same direction but the speed is changing, then
the velocity is changing, and there is an accelerationN but also, if the ob.ect is
keeping the same speed, but the direction is constantly changing, the ob.ect is
also accelerating. An example of this would be a car going around a circular
race track at a constant speed. 0ven though the speed is not changing, the
direction is constantly changing, and thus the car is under constant acceleration
"toward the center of the track#. For more on this type of acceleration, go to the
chapter on angular motion.
E% +ump to Table of (ontents
or

a =
v
t
average acceleration =
change in velocity
change in time
-ow let us look at a more common case of a car accelerating at the start of a
race shown in Figure 7.G "so we are dealing with linear motion once again#.
1sing the above e'uation for the situation shown in Figure 7.G, we show that
"remember that the subscripts f stands for final and i stands for initial#:

E3 +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re 3.9 'ace 2ar acceleratin- to,ard the ri-ht (and speedin- +p$.
B C ?.? m@s
t C ?.? sec.
Toward 9ight is T
Toward 5eft is >
B C 3? m@s
t C E.? sec.

a =
v
t
=
v
f
v
i
t
f
t
i
=
3?
m
s
?.?
m
s
E.? s?.? s
=
3?
m
s
E.? s
= <.?
m
s
s
= <.?
m
s
3
-ow there are a couple of things to notice. First of all, the units are m@s
3

"sometimes this is read as "meters per second per second# and not m@s. This
means that )acceleration is not the same thing as velocity*+ For a novice in
physics, "and even some who have been working with it for a while#, it is easy
to get confused between these two concepts. The units should be a dead
giveaway when working a problem, because m@s are the units associated with
velocity and and m@s
3
are always the units associated with accelerationD
Acceleration is how velocity is changing with time, while velocity is how
position is changing with time. =o for example, look at the case below in
Figure 7.H.
E7 +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 3.: 'ace 2ar acceleratin- to,ard the le1t (and slo,in- do,n$.
B C 3? m@s
t C ?.? sec.
Toward 9ight is T
B C ?.? m@s
t C E.? sec.
Toward 5eft is
-ow we will recalculate the acceleration for this situation where the race car is
still moving to the right, but it is slowing down from 3? m@s to a stop.
-ow you see that even though throughout the entire time interval, the velocity
is to the right "a positive number, except at the split second when it is 8ero#, the
acceleration is always to the left "a negative number for the entire time
interval#.
,emember, that 2ust because the acceleration is negative, does not always mean
that the ob2ect is slowing down% <or example, in <igure =.D below, the car is
moving in the negative direction. 7t has a negative velocity even though it has
a positive speed, because speed does not have a direction, but velocity does.
$ince the motion is along a straight line, the direction is indicated by the sign of
the velocity.
E< +ump to Table of (ontents

a =
v
t
=
v
f
v
i
t
f
t
i
=
?.?
m
s
3?
m
s
E.? s?.? s
=
3?
m
s
E.? s
= <.?
m
s
s
= <.?
m
s
3
Now we will look at the calculation for the acceleration for <igure =.DC
Now you can see that even though the acceleration is negative, the race car is
speeding up, but it is doing so in the negative direction%
here is 2ust one more case that we need to look at, and that is shown in
<igure =.?5 where the race car is moving to the left, but is slowing down. 3hat
EE +ump to Table of (ontents

a =
v
t
=
v
f
v
i
t
f
t
i
=
3?
m
s
?.?
m
s
E.? s?.? s
=
3?
m
s
E.? s
= <.?
m
s
3

Fi-+re 3.9 'ace 2ar acceleratin- to,ard the le1t (and speedin- +p$.
Toward 9ight is T
Toward 5eft is
B C )3? m@s
t C E.? sec.
B C ?.? m@s
t C ?.? sec.
direction do you think the acceleration will be inM
he acceleration calculation for <igure =.?5 is given belowC
hat's right% he acceleration is to the right (in the positive direction) even
though the car is slowing down% he negative or positive sign of the
acceleration doesn't necessarily mean that the ob2ect is speeding up or slowing,
down, but 2ust shows the direction of the !change of velocity", keeping in mind
that the velocities being considered can also be negative%
E& +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 3."0 'ace 2ar acceleratin- to,ard the ri-ht (b+t act+ally
slo,in- do,n$.
Toward 9ight is T
B C )3?.? m@s
t C ?.? sec.
B C ?.? m@s
t C E.? sec.
Toward 5eft is

a =
v
t
=
v
f
v
i
t
f
t
i
=
?.?
m
s
3?
m
s

E.? s?.? s
=
3?
m
s
E.? s
= <.?
m
s
3
& very popular word, used especially often for spacecraft, is the word
)deceleration*+ his is usually used to describe what is happening when the
spacecraft re9enters the +arth's atmosphere and starts to slow down with
respect to the +arth. his is due to the friction from the +arth's atmosphere.
Note that deceleration is 2ust the case where the acceleration is in the opposite
direction of the velocity, and is N# necessarily a negative acceleration% hus
deceleration will be a negative acceleration only if the velocity is in the
positive direction, but the deceleration will be a positive acceleration if the
velocity is in the negative direction%
=ince acceleration is .ust the change of velocity with respect to time, then it
can be shown that the slope of a velocity versus time graph is going to represent
acceleration. =o lets look as the example of a baseball thrown straight up into
the air "weIll assume that air resistance is negligible, and we can ignore it for
this problem#. $f we were to take data with a very accurate measuring
instrument, we would see the following data table:
Time
"=econds#
Leight
",eters#
Belocity
"m@s#
?.? ?.? <J.?
%.? <<.% 7J.3
3.? GH.< 3J.<
7.? %?3.J %J.&
<.? %%G.& J.H
E.? %33.E ?.?
&.? %%G.& )J.H
G.? %?3.J )%J.&
H.? GH.< )3J.<
J.? <<.% )7J.3
%?.? ?.? ) <J.?
$f we were to plot this "as well as many points in between that we know
exist, but donIt actually have# we would get the graph of position vs. time as the
following:
EG +ump to Table of (ontents
$f we now determine the instantaneous slopes of this graph at each of the
indicated points in time, ".ust find the slopes at each of the indicated points#,
and plot these slopes versus time we would actually be plotting a velocity
versus time graph as follows:
EH +ump to Table of (ontents
$f we now determine the instantaneous slopes of this graph at each of the
indicated points in time, ".ust find the slopes at each of the indicated points#,
and plot these new slopes versus time we would actually be plotting an
acceleration versus time graph as follows:
$t is critical to note that the acceleration versus time graph shows .ust a
hori8ontal line, indicating that the acceleration is constant "with respect to
time#. That turns out to be very important for the following reason. $f the
acceleration is constant, then the velocity must be changing in a linear way.
This means that any constant acceleration motion will produce a straight line on
a velocity versus time graph, and you can then use the simple approximation:
8C+ation 3-"D Average velocity "with constant acceleration# formula:
showing that the average velocity is .ust the sum of the initial and the final
velocities divided by 3. $f the acceleration were not constant, the velocity
versus time graph would not be a straight line, but rather a curve, and you
would have to use calculus to determine the average velocity. -otice that if the
EJ +ump to Table of (ontents

v =
v
i
v
f
3
Acceleration versus Time 2raph
initial velocity is .ust 8ero "any problem where the starting velocity is 8ero#, the
average velocity will .ust be half the final velocityD Lere is a combined graph
of all three measurements of motion versus time:
9emember that while the numbers on the vertical axis are the same for all of
the graphs, the units are notD The height is showing how high the ball is at each
second "in meters#. The Belocity in m@s starts out positive and decreasing for
the first five seconds "the ball is rising and slowing down#. The Belocity is
negative and still decreasing for the next five seconds because velocity is a
negative number here and the graph is still going down "even though the speed
is increasing in the downward direction#D =ince the acceleration "in m@s
3
# is .ust
the slope of the velocity line, it is a constant negative 'uantity "that we will see
later is .ust > J.H m@s
3
or this can be stated to be J.H m@s
3
in the downward
direction. The direction of the velocity can be indicated either by a positive or
negative sign, or by using a direction statement.
&? +ump to Table of (ontents
3.6 The 3 8C+ations o1 5otion (1or constant Acceleration$ ?i.pli1ied@
About the only way to properly deal with problems where the acceleration is
steadily changing is to use calculus, which is beyond the scope of this textbook.
Actually, calculus was crucial for solving many physics problems as
demonstrated by both =ir $ssac -ewton and 2ottfried 5eibni8 "both are now
credited with co)inventing (alculus#. -ow since this textbook is not going into
the use of calculus with physics, we are going to have to make some
simplifying assumptions in order to get some e'uations for us to work withD
$n keeping with the two levels for this textbook, $ am going to have two sets
of 7 e'uations. /oth of these sets of e'uations will assume that the acceleration
is constant, but the first set "simplified# will also assume that you are starting
with an initial velocity of 8ero "v
f
C ?#D
*e are now going to look at our definitions of motion, and do a little
mathematical manipulation, and come up with three basic e'uations of motion
in one dimension.
First we look at the definition of average velocity, and use the initial position
and initial time as , and then :
-ow we will replace the x
f
with the letter d "remembering that here is must
be a displacement and thus has a direction#, and the t
f
with .ust the letter t
representing the total time of the change of position. *e thus get the fairly
standard e'uation of:
8C+ation 3-!D
$n a similar manner, we look at the definition of average acceleration and doing
much the same we get:
&% +ump to Table of (ontents

v =
x
t
=
x
f
x
i
t
f
t
i
=
x
f
t
f

v =
d
t
-ow we will replace the
v
f
with the letter v representing the final velocity,
and the
t
f
with .ust the letter t representing the total time of the change of
velocity. *e thus get the fairly standard e'uation of:
8C+ation 3-3D
-ow we can use a combination of 0'uation 7.3 and e'uation 7.7 to find the
total distance traveled, by first seeing with simple algebra that:
8C+ations 3-#D
-ow if you start with 8ero velocity, and you have a constant acceleration, then
you have the next e'uation:
8C+ation 3-6D
and this is found as follows "for those who can follow the algebra#:
&3 +ump to Table of (ontents

a =
v
t
d =
%
3
a t
3
" if v
i
is e'ual to 8ero, and if a is constant.#

v =
d
t
d =

vt and

a =
v
t
v =

at

a =
v
t
=
v
f
v
i
t
f
t
i
=
v
f
t
f
8C+ation 3-6 (derivation$D
Thus our three simplified e.uations of motion, which assume that the initial
position is 8ero, the initial velocity is 8ero, and that the acceleration is constant
are:
a$
8C+ations 3-7D b$
c$
<eeds so.e 8xa.ples hereB
&7 +ump to Table of (ontents

v =
d
t

a =
v
t
d =
%
3
a t
3
d =

vt
=

vt
=
v
f
v
i

3
t
=
v
f

3
t since v
i
is zero
=
%
3
v
f
t from the second half of +..=< above
=
%
3

at t
=
%
3
at
3
since a is constant.
/+0 The three 1.uations of Motion "for constant ,cceleration$ )(tandard*
Now we can also do the three e.uations of motion for the case of constant
acceleration, but without using the simplifying assumption that the initial
position and initial velocity are zero. 3e will still use the assumption that if v
does not have a subscript, that it means the final velocity, and that t without a
subscript refers to the final time, with the initial time assumed to be zero.
Now once again we will start with the definition of acceleration (assuming
constant acceleration)C
Now if we multiply both sides by t and subtract v
i
from both sides, we getC
1.uation /23:
Next we use the definition of velocity (but using the assumption that
acceleration is constant )C
H
&< +ump to Table of (ontents
v
f
= v
i


at

v =
x
t

a =
v
t
=
v
f
v
i
t
f
t
i
=
v
f
v
i
t
combining the two v
i
terms, we get e.uation =9GC
1.uation /24:
his is a much more generally usable e.uation than the last two e.uations of
the three simplified e.uations of motion given by +.uation =9A, but you can see
if the initial velocity is zero, then this e.uation 2ust becomesC
and then by moving the x
i
to the left side, you getC
&E +ump to Table of (ontents
x
f
= x
i
v
i
t
%
3
at
3
x
f
= x
i
?t
%
3
at
3
x
f
x
i
=
%
3
at
3
v
f
v
i
3
=
x
f
x
i
t
from 0'uation 7)% above
v
f
v
i
3
t = x
f
x
i
by rearranging
x
f
= x
i

v
f
v
i
3
t by rearranging again
x
f
= x
i

v
f
3
t
v
i
3
t
x
f
= x
i

v
i
at
3
t
v
i
3
t using 0'uation 7)G
x
f
= x
i

v
i
t
3

%
3
a t
3

v
i
t
3
and since x
f
L x
i
is 2ust the Ax or the displacement d, we get the same result as
the simplified e.uation =9Ac.
here is one more extremely useful general e.uation that we still need. o
derive it we start with e.uation =9EC
Now if we s.uare both sides and <#7( out the terms on the right side we getC
his gives us a new and useful e.uationC
1.uation /25:
3e can now combine the +.uation =9E, =9G, and =9D to form our standard three
e.uations of motion "for constant acceleration$C
a)
1.uations /260: b)
c)
&s mentioned in the introduction, some books use the subscript 0 to indicate
&& +ump to Table of (ontents
v
f
= v
i


at
v
f
3
= v
i
3
3 a x
f
x
i

69
v
f
3
= v
i
3
3a x
v
f
3
= v
i


at
3
v
f
3
= v
i
3
3 v
i

at

a
3
t
3
v
f
3
= v
i
3
3

a v
i

%
3

at
3
by factoring
v
f
3
= v
i
3
3 a x
f
x
i
by using 0'. 7)H above
v
f
= v
i
at
x
f
= x
i
v
i
t
%
3
a t
3
v
f
3
= v
i
3
3 a x
value of the variable when time t e.uals zero, which corresponds to the
subscript i for initial. hus these three e.uations are often written in the
e.uivalent form (where no subscript indicates final time)C
a)
1.uations /260: b)
c)
hese are exactly the same as the e.uations =9?5 above them, so 7 will give
them the same e.uation number, and use either form interchangeably.
3.9 Vector *ntrod+ction (Vectors indicate direction$
At this point we need to introduce the concept of a vector. Mou will need to
remember that a vector is simply some 'uantity that has a numerical value A-!
a direction. 5ater in (hapter E we will go into considerably more detail on
vectors and how they can be added "it is usually 'uite a bit more complicated
than .ust adding the numbers#. For now, we will only consider vectors that are
one)dimensional. For one)dimensional vectors, the direction for the vector will
be denoted by a T sign or a > sign "plus@minus#. First we have to agree on
which direction we will consider the positive direction, and which we will
consider the negative direction, but for a one)dimensional vector these will be
opposite each other. For example, in the unicycle and race car examples in
section 7.3 above, both velocity and acceleration were assumed to be positive if
they were toward the right of the page, and negative if they were toward the
left. $n cases of vertical motion "especially for falling ob.ects, or ob.ects that
are thrown upward#, it is a common convention to consider up as positive and
down as negative. Thus if you throw a rock straight upward, it initially has a
positive velocity, and at the top of the path has 8ero velocity, and then as it falls
back down has a negative velocity. This clearly distinguishes the different
velocities for when the rock is going up and later when it is going down, while
speed "which has no direction# would not be able to distinguish going up versus
going down. Mou could say whether it was going up or down, but then you
&G +ump to Table of (ontents
v = v
?
at
x = x
?
v
?
t
%
3
at
3
v
3
= v
?
3
3 a x
are giving direction to speed, and thus converting it into a vectorD
For one)dimensional vectors, we can add these vectors by .ust adding the
negative or positive numerical values for each. For example, if you were on an
elevator and threw a marble upward with a velocity of 3 m@s, you could
determine what the velocity of the marble "relative to the ground floor#, if you
knew the velocity of the elevator relative to the ground floor. $f the elevator
were rising at % m@s, then the marble would be moving upward with the
velocity:
Velocity (relative to -ro+nd 1loor$ I
Velocity yo+ thre, it +p,ard
J Velocity o1 the elevator (relative to -ro+nd 1loor$
or B "relative to ground floor# C 3 m@s T % m@s
C 7 m@s
$f, however, the elevator were dropping at % m@s, then the marble would be
moving upward with the velocity:
Velocity (relative to -ro+nd 1loor$ I
Velocity yo+ thre, it +p,ard
J Velocity o1 the elevator (relative to -ro+nd 1loor$
or B "relative to ground floor# C 3 m@s T ")% m@s#
C 3 m@s ) % m@s
C % m@s
An in an extreme case, if the elevator were dropping at 7 m@s, then the
marble would be moving downward with the velocity:
Velocity (relative to -ro+nd 1loor$ I
Velocity yo+ thre, it +p,ard
J Velocity o1 the elevator (relative to -ro+nd floor#
or B "relative to ground floor# C 3 m@s T ")7 m@s#
&H +ump to Table of (ontents
C 3 m@s ) 7 m@s
C ) % m@s "where the negative sign means
it is droppin- relative to the ground#
3.: 'elative 5otion *ntrod+ction
The example in the previous section can be used to introduce the concept of
relative motion.
&J +ump to Table of (ontents
2hapter 3 +..ary
". The four types of motion are:
Translational Motion L changing location of a point ob2ect along a path.
otational Motion L the change of orientation (or the angle that an ob2ect
faces).
!ibrational "#scillatory Motion$ L the change in an ob2ect's position that
occurs in a periodic manner.
%luid Motion 7 where the !ob2ect" can be changing shape (and perhaps
density) at the same time.
!. Translational motion occurs when an ob2ect changes it's position relative to
a reference ob&ect during a period of time, and unless otherwise specified,
the reference ob2ect will be the earth.
3. The definitions of speed and velocity are:
average speed=
distance traveled
change in time
or
s =
d
t
average velocity =
total displacement
change in time
or
v =
x
t
#. )isplace.ent is a change in position, and while it does include a distance
measurement, it also includes the direction "this makes displacement a vector,
and distance a scaler#D The direction will be indicated as either positive or
negative if the motion is linear, or some other way if a 3)dimensional or a
7)dimensional problem is being worked on.
6. For either speed or velocity, the instantaneous 'uantities are found as a limit
as the change in time approaches 8ero, but can be thought of as being the
speed or velocity at a particular moment in time "that if continued unchanged
would produce that change in distance or displacement for the time
measured#.
G? +ump to Table of (ontents
7. Thus our three simplified e.uations of motion, which assume that the initial
position is 8ero, the initial velocity is 8ero, and that the acceleration is
constant are:
a$
8C+ations 3-7D b$
c$
9. 6ur standard three e.uations of motion (for constant acceleration)C
a)
1.uations /260: b)
c)
#r using the subscript 0 to indicate value of the variable when time t e.uals
zero, which corresponds to the subscript i for initial. hese three e.uations are
often written in the e.uivalent form (where no subscript indicates final time)C
a)
1.uations /260: b)
c)
G% +ump to Table of (ontents

v =
d
t

a =
v
t
d =
%
3
a t
3
v
f
= v
i
at
x
f
= x
i
v
i
t
%
3
a t
3
v
f
3
= v
i
3
3 a x
v = v
?
at
x = x
?
v
?
t
%
3
at
3
v
3
= v
?
3
3 a x
2hapter #. 3hat is Force4
*e discussed motion in the previous chapter. *e discussed how to measure
it and how to measure changes of motion called acceleration. $n this chapter we
are going to consider what causes changes in motion, or in other words, what
causes acceleration. The central concept of a change in motion or an
acceleration is tied the basic concept in physics known as a force. 0veryone
has a pretty good and intuitive idea of what a force is, by thinking of it as some
kind of a push or a pull on an ob.ect. Lowever in physics, the fundamental
idea of a force is basically .ust that it can cause changes in motion.
#." <e,tonKs Three &a,s
Although much of the early work on the concept of force was done by
2alileo, the main ideas of motion were summari8ed and codified by =ir $ssac
-ewton as the -ewtonIs Three 5aws of ,otion:
G3 +ump to Table of (ontents
-ewtonIs Three 5aws of ,otion "slightly paraphrased#
%
st
5aw > An ob.ect that is at rest remains at rest unless acted upon by
a net force, and an ob.ect that is in motion continues with the
same speed and direction unless acted upon by a net force.
3
nd
5aw > The acceleration of an ob.ect is proportional to the net force
acting upon the ob.ect, and is in the direction of the net force
acting upon the ob.ect, and is inversely proportional to the
mass of the ob.ect.
7
rd
5aw > $f an ob.ect exerts a force upon a second ob.ect, then the
second ob.ect exerts an e'ual and opposite force back upon the
first ob.ectD
#.! <e,tonKs First &a,
-ow lets spend some time "and pages# looking at each of these laws
individuallyD
Newton8s %irst 9aw: An ob.ect that is at rest remains at rest unless acted upon
by a net force, and an ob.ect that is in motion continues with the same speed
and direction unless acted upon by a net force.
This seems to be pretty clear when we consider a force to be a push or pull
on an ob.ect. $f an ob.ect is at rest, then unless there is a push or a pull on the
ob.ect, the ob.ect will continue to stay where it is, but now we need to look
more closely at the net force in the law. =uppose you are being tugged in two
opposite directions by friends "shown below#, and they are tugging gently
enough that you are not being pulled apartD "see Figure <.% below#
=ince pull Y% is pulling you to the left, and pull Y 3 is pulling you to the
right, the pulls together will add up to 8ero net forceD Thus, even though you
will be feeling both pulls, you wonIt actually begin to move in either direction
unless one pull becomes greater than the other one. This would work exactly
the same if both friends were pushing on you instead. The pushes would add up
to a 8ero net force, and you would remain motionless. This is because forces
have both magnitude and direction. Forces are also vectors "like velocity and
acceleration# and have to obey vector addition laws "which we will get into in
G7 +ump to Table of (ontents
Figure <.% -et force is
8ero, if both
Friends are pulling with e'ual Force.
Eo+
Friend Y%
Friend Y3
ull Y%
ull Y3
the next chapter#. As long as we use only forces in one dimension we can show
their direction by using a plus or minus on them, and add their magnitudes
when they have a plus "or if no sign is given it is assumed to be plus#, and
subtracting when the sign is negative.
For Figure <.% above, if we call a pull to the right positive, then ull Y3 is
positive, and ull Y% is going to be negative "since it is in the opposite direction,
which is to the left#, and they will thus add up to 8ero.
-ow if you have a box that is moving "or sliding# to the right "positive
direction# as shown in Figure <.3 below, it starts slowing down immediately and
steadily until it stops moving.
This may be why the 2reeks often viewed a lack of motion as the natural
state of an ob.ect, and assumed that it took a force to keep something moving.
They did not use the idea of friction by the ground on the box, as a force
between two ob.ects "like the box and the ground# that would slow the box.
5etIs look at the same box now and add some wheels to it. $n your mind
you can see that it will still move forward, but now will roll or move forward a
really long distance before coming to a stop "compared to not having wheels#.
G< +ump to Table of (ontents
Figure <.3 /ox sliding to 9ight
!irection of
,otion
$n fact, this is the reason that the wheel was such a great inventionD $t is the
most commonly used mechanism in transportation specifically designed to
reduce friction. $f there were truly no friction, then the box rolling to the right
would do so continuously until it ran into something, and then the force
associated with the collision "see the chapter on momentum# would cause it to
change its motion by stopping.
=ometimes -ewtonIs First 5aw is referred to as the 5aw of $nertia. $nertia
is often defined for physics as the tendency of a body to resist acceleration.
This is rather vague until we introduce the idea that the more mass an ob.ect
has, then the more resistance to acceleration it has also. $nertia is actually
measured as the mass of an ob.ect "sometimes called the inertial mass#. $f you
had to get a stubborn animal moving in some direction, it would be much easier
to get a mouse moving than an elephantD This is because an elephant has much
more mass than a mouse, and therefore more inertia. =o with the same force on
each of them, the mouse will accelerate in the direction that you are pushing,
while the elephant will barely move at all. The elephant has more inertia than
the mouse, simply because it has more mass than the mouse, and is therefore
much harder to get moving "or to stop if already moving#. This last can easily
be understood by thinking about which you would rather have charging at you,
an elephant or a mouse. $Id pick the mouse personally, since $ really donIt want
to get smashed into by a charging elephantD
GE +ump to Table of (ontents
Figure <.7 /ox rolling on wheels to 9ight
!irection of ,otion
#.3 <e,tonKs econd &a,
-ow at this point, you should reali8e that -ewtonIs First 5aw is totally
'ualitativeD /y that term, $ mean that it expresses a general statement, but does
not attach any numbers or units to a problem. $t is thus not very useful for
making any accurate predictions that can be checked or verified, but is
generally a law expressing a concept. To do accurate predictions, we have to
look closely at -ewtonIs =econd 5aw.
Newton8s (econd 9aw: The acceleration of an ob.ect is directly proportional
to the net force acting upon the ob.ect, and is in the direction of the net force
acting upon the ob.ect, and is inversely proportional to the mass of the ob.ect.
This law has the advantage that it can be written "and summed up# as an
e'uation.
<e,tonKs second &a,D
This means that if you double the net force on an ob.ect, then you will double
the acceleration of that ob.ect. 5ikewise if you triple the net force on the ob.ect,
then you .ust triple the acceleration of that ob.ect. $t also means that if you
have a net force on an ob.ect, and then increase its mass until it has twice the
same mass, then the acceleration of the ob.ect will become half. 5ikewise, if
you triple the mass, then the acceleration of the ob.ect will become a third. Mou
can also see that in order to have the exact same acceleration with two different
ob.ects "having different masses#, the bigger mass will have to have a
proportionally bigger net force. Thus you can see that the more mass an ob.ect
has, the more resistance to a change in motion it has. This means that it has a
bigger inertia "proportional to and actually e'uivalent to its mass#.
The second law, in its e'uation form, also makes the units of a force very
easy to figure out. =ince a net force is e'ual to mass times acceleration, then
G& +ump to Table of (ontents
a =
<
net
m
or <
net
= ma
the units of a force, for the metric system, must be a kilogram Z m@s
3
or
kg m
s
3
.
This set of units for a force is used so often, that they decided to honor =ir $ssac
-ewton by calling it a -ewton or < for shorthand.
Thus:
% Newton = % N = %
kg m
s
3
#.# &ookin- at ?5ass@ vers+s ?3ei-ht@
At this point in the textbook, we need to clarify the meaning of mass
versus weight. They are not at all the same thing in physicsD They really
arenIt the same in science in general, but physics types 90A55M make a
distinction between the two concepts.
,ass is the amount of stuff there. $t could be determined by a certain
number of identical atoms, or by the amount of stuff in that platinum)iridium
cylinder kept near aris for the definition of a kilogram. $t can also be
determined by using a known force on an ob.ect, and measuring its
acceleration, and then from -ewtonIs =econd 5aw, determining what the mass
must be from the e'uation. This is often referred to as the inertial mass, and
this mass is regarded as a measure of the inertia of an ob.ect, or its resistance
to any change in its motion.
*eight is the force that pulls the ob.ect to the planet that you are living on
"which for most of us is the 0arth#D This force on an ob.ect, is a gravitational
force that will be looked more closely in a later chapter, but will be shown to
be directly proportional to the mass of the ob.ect. Thus we can determine the
gravitational mass by knowing the acceleration of a freely falling ob.ect "at
the surface of the 0arth this is called g and is e'ual to J.H m@s
3
# and using the
force re'uired to prevent this acceleration downward "say by using a scale or
other weighing instrument#, we will be able read the mass of the ob.ect from
the scale, even though the scale is actually measuring a force instead of a massD
This is not actually true of an old triple beam balance, or those beam balance
scales that you see in doctorIs offices or gymnasium locker rooms. These beam
balances are comparing the force downward of the ob.ect being measured
GG +ump to Table of (ontents
directly to some standard masses on the other end of the beam, and thus
would give the correct mass reading even if transported to the moon or ,ars.
A ma.or source of confusion surrounding weight and mass arises when
comparing the 0nglish or /ritish unit pound "commonly used in the 1nited
=tates# ,hich is act+ally a +nit o1 1orce, with the metric unit of mass, which is
a kilogram. For /ritish scientists it became especially confusing because
they had to use a unit of mass not at all common called a slug. This is the
mass that when you apply the force of one pound to, will produce an
acceleration of % foot@second. For comparison, in the metric system, the unit of
mass is the mass that when you apply the force of % -ewton to, will produce an
acceleration of %.? meter@secondD 1nfortunately, this is made even more
confusing, when the conversion is given in many books as % kg C 3.3 lbs. This
is N#T true! $t is true that an ob.ect with the mass of one kilogram will have a
weight in pounds of 3.3 lbs as long as the mass is at the earthIs surface, but the
conversion, as given, cannot actually be true since kg and lbs are different unitsD
All of this would become ancient history, only of importance to history
teachers, except that there is still confusion between weight and mass when
measuring things today. This is primarily because our scales "especially the
common electronic ones# actually measure force rather than mass. They then
use the standard g of acceleration at the earthIs surface to claim to be
measuring mass. $f you were to take that scale to another planet "or even a very
high mountain on the 0arth# it would not give the same reading of mass for the
same ob.ect when measured at sea level on 0arthD This is not true of the
beam balance mentioned above, since is is actually comparing to some
standard mass within it.
$n addition, a ma.or problem arises from the language used. roperly
speaking, one should say that an ob.ect weighs a certain number of pounds, and
masses a certain number of slugs "meaning that it has a mass of a certain
number of slugs#. $n the metric system, however, one should say that an ob.ect
masses a number of kilograms, and weighs a certain number of -ewtons.
eople "even in other fields of science# will often say that something weighs a
certain number of kilograms "or grams#, even tho+-h that is the .ass( and not
the ,ei-htB
GH +ump to Table of (ontents
The reason for this mistake is fairly easy to understand since earth based
sciences like biology and chemistry have such a tradition of being based on the
surface of the earth were the weight and mass of an ob.ect are always related by
the gravitational acceleration at the surface of the earth. hysics, on the other
hand, arose with ma.or influence from astronomy, and dealt with other
gravitational accelerations all of the time, so that in physics the confusion
between mass and weight simply did not really arise.
GJ +ump to Table of (ontents
#.6 Freely Fallin- =bLects
=ince weight is the pull of gravity downward on the earthIs surface, we
need to examine the motion of falling ob.ects at this point. A freely falling
ob.ect is said to be in free fall and is an ob.ect that the only significant force
acting upon it is gravity. Thus for a freely falling ob.ect, usually air resistance
is assumed to be negligible. $f you take a baseball and a feather and drop them
at the same time "on 0arth#, as shown in Figure <.<, you will see that the
heavier baseball will hit the ground before the feather. This would seem to
defeat the idea presented that freely falling ob.ects accelerate downward at the
same rate of acceleration downward. 6ur experimenter in Figure <.< is sad.
-ow in +uly of %JG%, (ommander =cott of Apollo %E mission to the moon
performed a videotaped demonstration that a feather and a geologistIs hammer,
when dropped on the airless moon, would fall at the same rate of acceleration
and hit the lunar ground at the same timeD =ince the moon has a lower pull of
gravity, the acceleration would be much less than on earth, and so both the
feather and the hammer fell very slowly, but they both fell at the same rate of
acceleration and hit the ground at the same time.
H? +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re #.# )roppin- 1eather vers+s %aseball on 8arth
Feather
/aseball
Feather
/aseball
/aseball hit
firstD
=o below, in Figure <.E, we see our experimenter dropping his feather and
baseball on the moonIs surface. =ince there is no air, he must be wearing a
moonsuit in order to breath. -ow with no air, and thus no air resistance, we see
that the feather and the baseball strike the moonIs surface at the same time.
-ow our experimenter is much happier, since his new experiment lends support
to his theory that all ob.ects fall at the same rate of gravitational acceleration for
the planet or moon that they are on, as long as the air resistance is negligible!
-ow at this point we really need to look more closely at the what happens
when ob.ects fall. There are many ways of showing this, especially with stop
action photography. Mou can see them in other "much more expensive physics
textbooks#, but here $ am going to .ust do a simple picture illustration of a
thought experiment. $n this thought experiment, we are going to go up in a
helicopter to a great height and drop an old fashioned iron cannonball from the
helicopter when the clock on board reads exactly 8ero seconds. *e will have a
H% +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re #.6 )roppin- 1eather vers+s %aseball on the 5oon
Feather
/aseball
Feather
They hit at sa.e
ti.eB
,oonsuit Lelmet
,oonsuit Lelmet
<o Air on 5oonB
/aseball
precision radar system on the iron cannonball and thus be able to determine
very accurately both how far it has fallen, and how fast its velocity downward is
at each moment in time.
-ow before we start to do this thought experiment, we need to find out what
the experts say that the value of g is at the surface of the earth.
1nfortunately, that is not very precise because it actually varies slightly at the
surface of the earth. =ome things that affect g are how high you are above
sea level "it gets less as you go up, because you are further from the center of
the earth#. Also, a factor that can change g is what your latitude is, since with
the bulge of the e'uator due to the earthIs spin, you are further away from the
center of the earth at the e'uator. After studying how it varies over the earth,
physicists have come up with the average value of g C J.H?G m@s
3
in the
downward direction, but it can vary by up to about ?.EU depending upon your
locationD $n general, - varies from J.GHJ m@s
3
at the e'uator to J.H73 m@s
3
at the
poles. ;y the way, that converts to a value of g = =4.?E ft@s
4
in the ;ritish
system, so a lot of mathematical textbook problems will use =4 ft@s
4
for the
acceleration, or ?A ft@s
4
which is half of the acceleration used in !the distance
fallen" calculations.
For this textbook, $ will be using two different values of g.
For most conceptual problems, we will use the value of g [ )%? m@s
3
.
"The ) sign means downward.#
+ust to add a little more confusion to the issue, we often refer to the
acceleration due to the earthIs gravitational field as being g C )J.H m@s
3
. $n
this case the negative sign is using the typical convention that an upward
acceleration is a positive one, and a downward acceleration is a negative
one. This is appropriate since the acceleration "-6T the velocity# of a
pro.ectile is always downwardD Lowever, if the problem "or the experiment# is
.ust using a falling pro.ectile "like a mass that is dropped#, then it is sometimes
more convenient to use g C J.H m@s
3
and use the downward direction as a
positive one. There is no problem in doing this, and it often makes the problem
simpler to compute, /1T you have to keep the same direction as positive and
H3 +ump to Table of (ontents
itIs opposite as negative for the 0-T$90 problemD $t is a common error to start
using one direction as positive, and then in the middle of the problem to
unconsciously reverse the direction as positive without reali8ing that you have
done so in your e'uationsD
For most plug)in problems and mathematical problems calculations, $ will
use the value of g C ) J.H m@s
3
with essentially unlimited precisionN "which
means that you donIt use the 3 significant digit value given, as a limit of the
significant digits of your answer, but your answerIs significant digits depends
upon the other measurements given#. -ow in any real physics experiment, you
would have to find "or measure# the local value of g to whatever number of
significant digits were needed, or could be determined.
The reason for the t,o different values to be used is simple, and of a very
practical nature when learning physics. They differ by only about 3U, and the
nice round numbers given for the conceptual calculations lets the reader focus
on the concepts involved rather than the more precise decimal solutions. $t is
.ust luck that makes g at the surface of the earth so close to %? m@s
3
, because
if the earth were .ust a little different si8e or mass, it would have a different g
value.
-ow for our cannonball dropped from the helicopter thought experiment, we
will use the conceptual rounded figure of g \ %? m@s
3
. 1sually in physics
textbooks they use a large cliff, but a vertical cliff is actually pretty hard to find,
and helicopters "especially thought helicopters# are cheap to rent. The main
thing that we reali8e is the the spacing between positions gets larger as time
increases. =o take a look at the figure <.& below:
*e see in Figure <.& that with each increasing time, the cannonball has
fallen a larger distance, and has a steadily increasing velocity. Low do we
know what the velocity at each time isF *e can .ust use the formula v I a t ,
which we get from 0'uation 7)& b. -ow the a in that formula stands for any
acceleration, so we will .ust replace it with the specific acceleration due to
gravity at the earthIs surface, called g, and we get v I - t. This means that to
get the velocity at any time, you .ust multiply the time in seconds by \%? m@s
3

for these conceptual solutions "or J.H m@s
3
in any of the problems#. $n the
Figure, we donIt check the velocity at any fractional times, but we could always
H7 +ump to Table of (ontents
do so...
For example, at the time of 7.E seconds, the velocity will be approximately
7E m@s downward "or 7<.7 m@s downward, when using g C J.H m@s
3
# .
Finding out how far down the cannonball would have dropped is a little
more tricky, and there are two ways to do it. *e could .ust use 0'uation 7)&c
which is:
-ow again the a in the formula is a general acceleration, and so we will
replace it with the value of g that we have been using, and get :
H< +ump to Table of (ontents
d =
%
3
g t
3
d =
%
3
at
3
HE +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re #.7 (annonball dropped from helicopter "distances and velocities
are both downward# and we are ignoring any downward wind from the
rotors. Balues are approximate using g%? m@s
3
.
t C % s, d [ E m, v [ %? m@s
t C & s, d [ %H? m, v [ &? m@s
Cannonball
t C 3 s, d [ 3? m, v [ 3? m@s
t C 7 s, d [ <E m, v [ 7? m@s
t C < s, d H? m, v <? m@s
t C E s, d [ %3E m, v [ E? m@s
t C ? s, d [ ? m, v [ ? m@s
t C G s, d [ 3<E m, v [ G? m@s
-ote that for both velocity and distance fallen, we can use the negative value
of - to indicate downward direction "as mentioned above#, and then both v and
d will be negative to indicate downward direction, or we can neglect the minus
sign which means the both distance and velocity are positive, which is .ust the
same as defining the downward direction as positive. "$ told you that it was
simpler to do that at times.# $t really doesnIt matter which direction we define
as positive, if we are consistent about keeping the same direction as positive for
distance, velocity, and acceleration, throughout the entire problem, it will
always give us the same answerD
-ow a second way of determining the distance fallen, is to look at the
downward velocity at the time given and average this velocity with the 8ero
velocity that you started out with. This will .ust be half of the downward
velocity at any time. =ince this is the average velocity from the time of the start
of the drop, you can get the distance fallen by multiplying this average velocity
by the total time of the drop. Iou can show mathematically that doing this is
actually the same thing as using the above e.uation when acceleration is
constant.
H& +ump to Table of (ontents
#.7 <at+re o1 Vario+s Forces
There are many different types of forces that we work with in physics.
Forces commonly observed in nature "or your kitchen, school, playground, or
laboratory# can be categori8ed as being either contact or non-contact forces.
-on)contact forces are sometimes called action)at)a)distance forces. 0xamples
of each of these types of forces are abundant. 1se your hand to slide a book
across a table. The force you exert on the book is a contact force. $f you were
to push the book off the edge of the table, it would fall to the ground. The force
that the earth exerts on the book is an example of a non)contact force. A contact
force is one in which there must be contact between the ob.ects in order to them
to exert a force upon each other. =ome examples of contact forces that we see
in nature and everyday life are:
The last example in the above list might take some thought. The wind here
is treated as an ob.ect, since it actually is matter, even though it is invisible and
fluid "changes shape easily#. To see clearly that it is a contact force, .ust put a
giant glass a'uarium around the tree, and you will soon see that the leaves donIt
blow off it. $f the wind canIt make contact, it doesnIt exert a force, which makes
the expression get out of the wind make sense, as .ust putting something like
a tree, cliff, rock, or building between you and the wind prevents it from putting
a force on you.
-ormally when you want to move an ob.ect, you need to make some contact
with it to push or pull it. ,ost people will remember seeing the =tar *ars
movies, by 2eorge 5ucas, and when a +edi ,aster wanted to move something
HG +ump to Table of (ontents
8xa.ples o1 2ontact Forces in <at+re and 8veryday &i1e
%. The force that a car exerts upon a wall, when it crashes it.
3. The force that a weight lifter exerts on a %?? kg barbell, as he lifts it over
his head.
7. The force that a swimmer exerts on the side of the pool, as she kicks off
for a lap.
<. The force that the wind exerts on a leaf, as it blows it off the tree.
he would use The Force on it. The scientific term for this is telekinesis,
which means moving things with your mind alone. That doesnIt work outside
of the movies. $f you have a book on a table, you have to make contact with it
to move it, as illustrated below in Figure <.&. $f the person on the left tries to
move the book without making contact, normally the book .ust sits there and
doesnIt moveD *hen the person on the right makes contact, by pushing the
book with his hand, then it starts to move to the rightD
There are a number of forces that are called non)contact, or action)at)a)
distance forces. These forces will change the motion of an ob.ect without
necessarily making contact with the ob.ect. =ome examples of these non)
contact forces are given in the examples below:
HH +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re #.7 $n order to move the book on the desk, you must make
contact.
/ook
No contact,
no motion%
/ook
3ith contact,
there is motion%
5ab /ench 5ab /ench
8xa.ples o1 <on-2ontact Forces in <at+re and 8veryday &i1e
%. The force that a magnet exerts on a nail, when it gets close to it.
3. The force that pulls socks together "makes them stick#, when pulled
out of a dryer.
7. The force that the earth exerts on an upward thrown ball, pulling it
back to the ground.
<. The force that keeps the 0arth moving around the =un, instead of
flying off in a straight line.
There are < known non)contact forces in nature. The first "and actually# the
weakest is the gravitational force between two ob.ects each having mass. This
is actually a very weak force in nature and re'uires a 9#T of mass "like that of
the earth# in order to be noticeable. This force will be studied in later chapters.
The second is the electromagnetic force, which actually encompasses two
separate, but interacting forces called the magnetic force, and the electrostatic
force. This force differs from the gravitational force by being stronger "say by
two magnets of mass much less than the earth#, and by being able to both attract
and repel between two magnets "for magnetism# and between two charged
ob.ects "where like charged ob.ects repel and unlike charged ob.ects attract#.
-otice that non)contact means only that the ob.ects do not have to be in
contact for the force to work. $f two magnets that are repelling are pushed by
your hands into contact, the force is clearly still there even if they are touching
or in contact. 5ikewise, a pine cone falling from a tree has a gravitational force
downward that is a non)contact force. This force does not suddenly disappear
when the pine cone reaches the earth, but a contact force by the earth pushing
upward prevents the pine cone from falling furtherD
The other two forces in nature are called the weak nuclear force, and the
strong nuclear force and while they are crucial to the study of atoms in nature,
they are not going to be covered at any great length in this book.
The above mentioned idea of telekinesis, or moving an ob.ect with your
mind alone, will be discounted in this textbook. There have been a number of
scientific studies of this sub.ect, and probably will be many more, because the
idea simply fascinates most people "myself included#. =o far, none of these
studies has given any evidence "of a repeatable nature# showing that this ability
exists in even minor forms "such as affecting the throw of a pair of dice, or a
single die#. As clearly outlined in the scientific method section, this cannot be
used to prove that such an ability does not exist, but such an ability certainly
cannot be included in the nature of various forces, until some evidence of a
repeatable nature comes to light.
Now a point of precision must now be mentioned. 7 have used the idea of
contact forces because they are very helpful in the normal world, but if you are
HJ +ump to Table of (ontents
to go on in physics, you will need to remember that at a microscopic scale, &((
forces are actually non9contact% ;y this 7 mean that even as your hand may be
pushing a book, on a microscopic level it is the electron cloud's charge of the
surface atoms in your hand that are repelling the electron cloud's charge in the
surface atoms of the book that are actually doing the actual repelling or
pushing.
7n addition, the atoms on the opposite side of the ob2ect (the book in this
case) from the pushing hand, have no contact with the hand, but each of the
atoms throughout the book will be pushing on the atoms further away from the
pushing hand. hus, the atoms all together will deliver enough push for each
of the atoms throughout the book to all start moving together in the direction
away from the pushing hand. his causes the book as a whole to be pushed by
the pushing hand in what appears to be one simple non9contact force.
=everal other types of forces need to be considered here also. $f you are to
push inward directly upon a wall, then the push on the wall would be a
normal force. $t is called this because it is a contact force that is directed
normal or perpendicular to the surface. $f, however, you were to push at an
angle to the wall, and it were perfectly slick your hand would slide along the
wall. That does not normally happen, so there is a frictional force by the wall
on your hand that prevents it from slipping in most cases. This is called a
frictional force, and we will study friction later in this book. $n the figure
below, you will see that the person pushing on the wall to the right has a total
force that is directed parallel to his arm. *hat you can also see is that this force
can be made up of both a frictional force upon the wall, as well as a normal
force pushing into the wall. This is a vector, where forces that are not in the
same direction are added together, and we will work more on them later.
J? +ump to Table of (ontents
Another type of force that is often used is a tension force "denoted F
T
#,
usually when a rope or a chain pulls on an ob.ect. This force is always parallel
to the rope or chain where it is attached to the ob.ect, and is in the direction of
the rope.
Another type of force that is often used is a constraint force. This is a force
that is exerted by some ob.ect that prevents further motion. For example, if you
drop a book on a table, the book will be falling until it strikes the table, but then
the table will exert a force upward on the book that is exactly enough to prevent
the book from falling further. The more massive the book, the greater this
constraint force will be. This constraint force will become as large as is
necessary to constrain the book form moving, until the book is so massive that
it crushes the deskD A constraint force is usually .ust a special case of a normal
force, but is special in that it is always exactly large enough to prevent further
motion or acceleration.
Altogether, $ will list some of the shorthand notations that $ will be using in
this textbook for various forces.
J% +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re #.9 Two people, each pushing on a *all, where on right the person is
pushing at an angle, and the Total force is actually a sum of the frictional and the
normal forces by the hand on the *all.
erson on 5eft
erson on 9ight
F
n
Total
force
F
fr
*all *all
F
n

#.9 <e,tonKs Third &a,
-ow we are going to examine -ewtonIs Third 5aw and some of its meaning
and conse'uences. The Third 5aw states that:
-ewtonIs 7
rd
5aw > 7f an ob2ect exerts a force upon a second ob2ect, then the
second ob2ect exerts an e.ual and opposite force back upon the first ob2ect%
6r alternately, -ewtonIs 7
rd
5aw > <or every action force, there is an e.ual
and opposite reaction force%
This rather simple little law, which gives the source of many ma.or effects in
physics, is also often a ma.or source of confusion. This is not helped by the
fact that this law, has been used outside of its physics framework to be applied
willy)nilly to any social point that someone is trying to makeD "9emember
how the success of science makes people try to put the label of science on
J3 +ump to Table of (ontents
8xa.ples o1 so.e co..on 1orce notations +sed in this textbookD
". F
-
the 1orce o1 -ravity( or co..only called the ,ei-ht( on the
obLect.
!. F
n
the nor.al 1orce (a contact 1orce by another obLect that is
nor.al or perpendic+lar to the s+r1ace$.
3. F
1r
the 1rictional 1orce (a contact 1orce by another obLect that is
parallel to the s+r1ace$.
#. F
.
the .a-netic 1orce by another obLect (+s+ally a .a-net$.
6. F
es
the electrostatic 1orce by another obLect (+s+ally a char-ed
one$.
7. F
T
the tension 1orce (+s+ally 1ro. a rope or a chain$.
9. F
c
the constraint 1orce (by another obLect preventin- 1+rther
.otion or acceleration$.
Note that 6- :- and ; are non2contact forces- while <- /- 0- and 3 are
contact force+
their sub.ect whether deserved or not.#
There are several points to remember when using this law.
%. 0very force that we will be considering will be on some ob.ect. A force is
a push or a pull, but that push or pull always has to be on some
ob.ect.
3. 0very force that we will be considering will be by some other ob.ect.
,ost science fiction shows eventually come up with some kind of force
field that pushes back on you as you try to push through it, usually with
such force that you cannot push through it. 1nfortunately, the force field
canIt push on you, since it is not an ob.ect. 0ven for non)contact types of
forces, like magnetism, for example, the force is by one magnet on the
other magnet. Mou can see this by trying to push two "opposite poles#
repelling magnets close to each other. 0ach magnet puts a force on the
other magnet, and these forces are e'ual in strength and opposite in
directionD This does not mean that force fields as shown in science
fiction shows canIt exist, but you will be pushed upon by whatever
machine or ob.ect is generating the force field rather than the force
field itself. "And we really havenIt a clue as to how to make such a
device, which is why it is still science fictionD#
7. 0very third law pair of forces are on di11erent ob.ects. Third law pairs
cannot be on the same ob.ectD A book resting on a table will have e'ual
and opposite forces acting on it, the gravitational force downward by the
earth on the book, as well as the force upward by the table on the book, so
that it maintains its motionless state, even though gravity hasnIt taken a
holiday and is still pulling downward on the book. These two force are
e'ual and opposite, but are not third law pairs because they are the same
ob.ect. -otice that they are not even the same kind of force as one is a
contact force, and the other is a non)contact forceD
<. 0very third law pair of forces, must be the sa.e kind of forceD $f a book
exerts a normal force downward on the table below, then the table below
will exert a normal force upward on the book. $f a magnet is pulling on a
nail with a magnetic force, then the nail is pulling back on the magnet also
J7 +ump to Table of (ontents
with a magnetic forceD
-ow letIs think about this a little bit. =uppose that you are leaning against a
wall. Then you are putting a force on the *all. 5ikewise, it is putting an
e'ual and opposite "in direction# force on you. Mou can tell this, because if the
wall were suddenly removed, you would fall overD
$n a like manner, if you are being pulled toward the earth by a gravitational
force, then the earth is being pulled toward you by an e'ual forceD =o suppose
you .ump out of an airplane "with a parachute of course#. -ow as you are
falling and being accelerated downward by the gravitational force of the earth
downward on you, then the earth should also be being accelerated upward by
the gravitational force by you on the earthD This is actually happening, even
though it has never been measured. The reason you cannot typically measure it,
is that second law of motion that states:
$f the m in the second law is the mass of the entire earth, while the force is .ust
the force pulling you toward the earth, then the acceleration of the earth
involved will be incredibly smallD $tIs about like taking a force of %??? - and
dividing it by & million million million million kilogramsD $tIs pretty small
alrightD =o sometimes the third law reaction force is not noticeable, but its still
there.
J< +ump to Table of (ontents
a =
<
net
m
#.: Free %ody )ia-ra.s
$ now will introduce the concept of a Free /ody !iagram or F/! for
short. This concept is used in many physics textbooks, but unfortunately has
several different versions, and so it varies from author to author what is to be
included in a free body diagram. =ince $ am going to be using these to illustrate
the very simple motion "or lack thereof# of an ob.ect, $ will use an extremely
simple Free /ody !iagram at this point. The focus for a Free /ody !iagram
is to look at all of the forces that are being placed on only one obLect at a ti.eB
-ow letIs look at the situation shown above in Figure <.H. First we have to
decide what the ob.ect is that we are going to do the Free /ody !iagram "F/!#
for. 5etIs choose the spring that the two people are pulling on. Thus our F/!
is going to be showing all of the forces acting upon the spring. $ use a 'uotes
on the word all because although there are actually millions or billions of
individual minuscule forces upon the spring, we will neglect small forces such
air currents, etc. and focus on only the main forces. $f we also assume that the
spring has very small mass, then its weight "the gravitational force upon it# is
also very small, and we can regard it as negligible for this case. Two
conventions that $ will use for my particular forms of Free /ody !iagrams are
that the ob.ect, regardless of its nature, will be drawn as a simple rectangular
JE +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re #.: Two people pulling on =pring
erson % on 5eft
erson 3 on 9ight
box, and that the forces are always drawn as arrows coming 1ro. the box.
0ach force arrow needs to be labeled by the symbol of the type of force, and
show ?by@ what ob.ect, and ?on@ what ob.ectD -ow obviously the ob.ect that
is shown as the box for the F/! should always be the on ob.ect, but this
really helps keep the focus on the ob.ect that the F/! is being drawn for.
/elow in Figure <.J is the Free /ody !iagram for the =pring above:
-ote that the on is the =pring in both forces, since both forces are pulls on
the spring. *e can also see from this F/! that the net force on the =pring is
8ero since the forces are e'ual in magnitude and opposite in direction. *e
would add the magnitude of the forces in -ewtons, if we knew what they were.
J& +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re #."0 Person p+llin- a prin- attached to a 3all
*all
erson 3 on
9ight

Fi-+re #.9 Free %ody )ia-ra. 1or the prin- sho,n in Previo+s Fi-+re
=pring
f
T
by erson 3
on =pring
f
T
by erson %
on =pring
-ow in Figure <.%? above, you can see that we have replaced the person on
the left, by attaching the =pring to a wallD $n this case, the Free /ody !iagram
would be exactly the same as the above one in Figure <.J, except that the word
erson % would be replaced by the word *all. To the spring involved, each
situation is exactly the sameD
The use of Free /ody !iagrams "F/!s# also permits determining internal
forces in ob.ects also. For example, if you have a small book with a mass of 7
kg at rest on top of a bigger box with a mass of %E kg, which rests on a table,
you would expect to have the table put a force upward on the box and book of
%H? - "the weight of both combined#, but a Free /ody !iagram shows that
while the box does have %H? - upward by the table, it has only 7? - downward
by the book on the box. The remaining force to prevent the box from
accelerating upward is the gravitational force on the box of %E? -. *e can thus
sort out the three separate forces on the box as shown in Figure <.%% below:
The examples that have been shown all include Free /ody !iagrams for
ob.ects where the forces on the ob.ects all add up to 8ero, or 8ero net force on a
JG +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re #."" For a 7 kg book on top of a %E kg box that rests on a table,
let us look at internal forces on the %E kg box.
/ox
/ook
Table
/ox
F/!
F
n
by Table on /ox
C %H? - by 3
nd
5aw
F
n
by /ook on /ox
C 7? - by 3
nd
5aw
"which is weight of
the /ook#
F
g
by 0arth on /ox
C mg
C %E kgZ%E? m@s
3

C %E?-
ob.ect. This does not have to be the case at allD $t .ust means that if the net
force on the ob.ect is not 8ero, then the ob.ect is accelerating at that instantD
The simplest case is an F/! for a ?.3 kg ball in free fall in the air shown in
Figure <.%3 below.
-otice that since the only force is downward, the net force must also be
downward, and thus the acceleration of the ball must be downwardD This tells
us the direction of the acceleration "downward# but does -6T tell us the
direction of the motion or velocity. The ball may be moving upward and
slowing down "downward acceleration# or it may be moving downward and
speeding up "also downward acceleration#. $t could even be at that split)second
time at the very top of itIs path, where the vertical velocity is momentarily 8ero,
but it is still accelerating downward, changing its motion from upward right
before the moment, to motion downward right after the moment in timeD
#.9 Friction
Friction between solid surfaces is caused by the fact the the surface of
ob.ects, even if they seem to be very smooth, are notD The very small
irregularities on the surfaces means that when they slide over each other, the
JH +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re #."! Free /ody !iagram for a ?.3? kg ball in free fall in
the Air
F
g
by 0arth
on /all
C m g
C?.3? kg x J.H m@s
3

C %.J& - [ 3.? -
%all
irregularities will snag on each other and produce microscopic forces opposite
the relative motion. $n addition, there are chemical bonding forces between
surfaces as well as other microscopic effects that can cause forces between
surfaces. These chemical bonding forces can come into play by making metals
extremely smooth, and then finding that when the surfaces that come into
contact with each other actually weld or bind together instead of having
almost no friction as would be expected if it were only the irregularities binding
on each other. This can occur especially in a vacuum like in space, where there
is no oxygen to make oxides on the surface. An actual fully developed
theoretical treatment of friction is thus a full field of study as a branch of
physics and engineering. $n addition, applying a substance such as a li'uid
lubricant between the materials changes the frictional forces substantiallyD
The sum of all of these microscopic forces adds up in our everyday world as
a frictional force in the direction opposite the relative motion that tries to either
slow down or halt the relative motion between two ob.ects. 0ven when ob.ects
are not in motion with respect to each other, these microscopic forces add up to
a frictional force that prevents motion of one ob.ect with respect to the other.
This frictional force continues until the motion starts, and then changes slightly.
$n general, for beginning physics textbooks, that must keep the problems
simple, we have frictional forces are divided into two types:
%. =tatic friction > the frictional force that prevents two ob.ects from sliding
with respect to each other. This force is exactly e'ual to the force that would
be causing motion between the ob.ects, but in the opposite direction. An
example of this is a block on a tilted table that is not actually sliding down
the table. The symbol for the coefficient "actual measurement# of this
frictional force is M
s
.
3. 4inetic friction > the frictional force that operates to cause two ob.ects
sliding with respect to each other to slow down and stop sliding with respect
to each other. An example of this is a block on a tilted table that is actually
sliding down the table, but may be slowing down "or .ust not accelerating at
the amount that a frictionless block would accelerate. The symbol for the
coefficient "actual measurement of this frictional force is M
k
.
This means that there is a threshold effect to friction and motion. For
JJ +ump to Table of (ontents
example, if you place a book on a table, and start to gently push it sideways,
it wonIt start to move initially until the push sideways gets up to a certain
threshold of force "this is while the frictional force is static#N and then, when it
suddenly breaks free, it continues to move sideways as long as you keep
pushing it, but if the sideways push stops, the book slows down due to kinetic
frictional force, and comes to a stop. $f you were to do this on a smoother table,
it would occur in a similar way except the threshold of the force needed to
start the book moving would be smaller, and when the force stopped, the book
would slide further before coming to a stop.
7t turns out that mathematically real problems can be closely approximated
by a force diagram like <igure B.?= belowC
7n this figure you can see that as a sideways force is applied, the static
frictional force is exactly the same magnitude, (but in the opposite direction) so
that the applied force and the static frictional force cancel each other out and
the ob2ect doesn't accelerate in the direction of either the applied force or the
frictional force. his is the left hand part of the figure labeled !$tatic ,egime".
&s the applied force gets larger and larger, it eventually reaches the !Ninetic
,egime" on the right had part of the figure, and the ob2ect is now sliding in the
%?? +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re #."3 Frictional Force diagram showing the =tatic and 4inetic
regimes of Frictional Force.
Applied Force
F
r
i
c
t
i
o
n
a
l

F
o
r
c
e
=tatic 9egime 4inetic 9egime
Q
s
Q
k
direction of the applied force, even though the frictional force is in the opposite
direction of the applied force, and is either slowing the ob2ect down until it
stops, or decreasing the acceleration that the applied force would normally
provide for the ob2ect.
Now in order to .uantitatively determine the effect of frictional forces, you
have to understand how the two coefficients of friction, coefficient of static
friction (=
s
)and coefficient of kinetic friction (=
k
) actually function. he
frictional forces are strongly controlled by the normal force on the ob2ect. his
is the force that is pushing the ob2ect into the surface, and (especially on a
horizontal surface) is often 2ust the gravitational force or weight of the ob2ect.
&s long as the applied force on the ob2ect is less than or e.ual to the coefficient
of static friction times the normal force (=
s
<
n
), the frictional force is e.ual to
the applied force, but in the opposite direction. 7f the applied force exceeds the
coefficient of static friction times the normal force, the ob2ect starts to slide and
the frictional force is then e.ual to the coefficient of kinetic friction times the
normal force (=
k
<
n
).
he coefficients of static and kinetic friction depend strongly upon the materials
of the ob2ect and the surface that it is sliding across. he coefficients are often
very close in value to each other, with the =
s
being slightly higher in value than
=
k
, but occasionally are far apart, meaning a sharp and abrupt !2erk" as the
ob2ect and the surface break loose and the ob2ect starts sliding.
;elow is a table of some approximate values for static and kinetic coefficients
of friction. hey depend on the exact material used, and are usually only good
to one or two significant figures (unless measured in the lab for the actual
materials being used).
%?% +ump to Table of (ontents
<rom the following sourcesC
httpC@@www.school9for9champions.com@science@frictionOcoefficient.htm
httpC@@www.applied.com@site.cfm@0oefficientsof<riction.cfm
httpC@@www.roymech.co.uk@)sefulOables@ribology@coOofOfrict.htm
2iancoli,
%?3 +ump to Table of (ontents
Table #." Approximate Balues for =tatic and 4inetic (oefficients of
Friction for some different materials. These can change depending on
the exact types of materials usedD
,aterials Q
s
Q
k
Aluminum on steel ?.&% ?.<G
2lass on 2lass ?.J< ?.<
=teel on =teel ?.G< ?.EG
6ak on 6ak "perpendicular to grain# ?.&3 ?.<H
6ak on 6ak "parallel to grain# ?.E< ?.73
6ak on 5eather "parallel to grain# ?.EE ?.<
9ubber tire on avement "dry# ?.J ?.H
9ubber tire on avement "wet# ?.&E ?.&
=teel on $ce ?.?7 ?.?%
Teflon on steel ?.< ?.<
(ast $ron on (ast $ron %.% ?.%E
=ynovial .oint for Lumans ?.?% ?
1xample :+6
$uppose we have a steel track shown in <igure B.?B above, that can be elevated
upward at an angle P that can be slowly changed to any angle as shown in the
figure. 7f there is an aluminum block on the track, and the angle P is gradually
increased from zero degrees, at what angle will the block begin to slide down
the trackM &fter it starts to slide, if the track stays at the same angle, what will
be the acceleration of the block down the trackM
$olutionC 7f the value of the static coefficient of friction for &luminum on steel
from able B.? is used (Hs = 5.A?) then for angles less than the critical angle of
sliding, the component of force of gravity (<
g (parallel)
) that it parallel to the track
will be e.ualed by the frictional force <
fr
and the aluminum block will not start
to slide. $ince the static regime is where the static friction is sufficient to
prevent motion and <
fr
Q H
s
<
n
he static frictional force must e.ual the
<
g
(parallel)
which is 2ust <
g
sin P, and the normal force by the track on the
aluminum block must e.ual <
g (perpendicular)
which is 2ust <
g
cos P.
%?7 +ump to Table of (ontents
%igure :+6: $teel track that can be elevated slowly to an angle P, with an
&luminum block resting on the track.
5ab /ench
=teel Track
Aluminum block
F
g
F
g "perpendicular#
F
g "parallel#
F
normal
F
fr
]
]
hus we haveC
7f the value of the static coefficient of friction for aluminum on steel from able
B.? is used (Hs = 5.A?) then the critical angle P will be found as arctan(5.A?)
which is P Q =?.B
o
&fter it starts to slide, if the angle is maintained at =?.B
o
then we must use the
coefficient of kinetic friction, which is given from the table as 5.BE. <or the
sliding aluminum block, the normal force is still e.ual and opposite to the
component of the gravitational perpendicular to the track. hus the net force
on the block will be 2ust the component of gravitational force parallel to the
track and the kinetic frictional force, which isC














$o when using the values of P = =?.B
o
and H
k
= 5.BE, the value of a turns out to
be ?.?E m@s down the track.
%?< +ump to Table of (ontents

< = <
g
sin
k
<
g
cos

< = <
g
(sin
k
cos )

< = mg(sin
k
cos )
a =

<
m
=
mg(sin
k
cos)
m
= g(sin
k
cos)
<
fr

s
<
n
<
g
sin
s
<
g
cos
tan
s

< = <
g
sin
k
<
n
1xample :+<
7n the <igure B.?F shown, a box is on a wagon (or a flat truck), and (from rest),
starts being pulled to the right. 7f there were no friction at all, the box would
2ust stay where it was, since there would be no net force on it, until the wagon
moving to the right was no longer under it, and then it would fall to the ground.
7n other words, without a significant amount of friction, the wagon would 2ust
slid out from underneath the box, which would then fall to the ground. $ince
static friction exists, the box will be accelerated to the right with the wagon, as
long as the frictional force to the right on the box is less than =
s
%
n+
hus, if
you were given a =
s
of 5.=F for the box against the wagon the solution could be
found asC
(olution:
$ince the normal force is 2ust the gravitational force on the box, this becomesC
and if you now divide both sides by m
box
and use Newton's definition of
%?E +ump to Table of (ontents
<
fr

s
<
n
<
fr

s
m
box
g
%igure :+6; $teel track that can be elevated slowly to an angle P, with an
&luminum block resting on the track.
9ope ulling
/ox on *agon
!irection of
Acceleration
accelerationC
3hich becomesC
3hich if =
s
= 5.=F, means that the acceleration of the box must be less than
5.=F x D.G m@s
4
or 2ust =.B m@s
4
or the box will start to slip off the wagon (or flat
truck).
7f the acceleration exceeds this value, the kinetic friction will take over (since
the box is sliding with respect to the wagon), and will continue to accelerate the
box forward, but with less acceleration than the wagon, so it will slide to the
back of the wagon, and if there is no change in the wagon's acceleration, the
box will slide off the back of the wagon (for flat truck).
%?& +ump to Table of (ontents
a
box

s
g
a
box
=
<
fr
m
box


s
m
box
g
m
box
=
s
g
2hapter 6. 3hat are Vectors4
6." 2oncept o1 Vectors
-ow we need to look more closely at the concept of vectors. *hile we have
talked about them several times so far, we were fairly vague about how they
worked or what they were. *e will need to really understand them, and how to
use them, during the remaining chapters of this textbook. Bectors are actually a
part of mathematics that is used by physicists, simply because it is almost
impossible to do physics without them. The actual manipulation of vectors like
adding them and multiplying them simply comes from mathematics, but
interpreting the results and what these results predict for actual world solutions
to problems is basically physics.
There is an entire branch of mathematics called tensors, which were used by
Albert 0instein to create his famous 2eneral Theory of 9elativity. *e will only
study scalers and vectors from this rich branch of mathematics.
=calers are any measurements that have a si8e or numerical value, but do not
have any direction associated with them. These measurement can be of many
different things, but they must not have a direction. 6ne example of a scaler
might be the temperature at each point in the room. This does not have a
direction, but has a magnitude "a numerical value#. Another example of a scaler
is the speed that an ob.ect is moving. This is how fast it is moving, but not the
direction.
Bectors are any measurements that have a si8e or numerical value "called its
magnitude, .ust like with the scaler#, and also have a directionD There are going
to be many examples of vectors in physics. *e have already had many of them,
such as velocity, acceleration, and force.
$n the beginning of our study of motion, we now should reali8e that distance
that an ob.ect moved is a scaler, but if the direction is included, then this
becomes a displacement. For example, the car may drive E blocks "which is a
scaler ) distance#, but the car may drive E blocks d+e east "which is a vector )
displacement#.
%?G +ump to Table of (ontents
-ow mathematically, it really doesnIt matter whether we are talking about
velocity, acceleration, or forceN vectors are all handled the same way. There are
a couple of things that you must remember not to doD Mou cannot add or
subtract vectors of different 'uantities. For example, you can add two
velocity vectors, or two acceleration vectors, or two displacement vectors, or
two force vectors, but you cannot add a velocity vector to a force vector, or a
velocity vector to an acceleration vector, etc.D Thus, while we will normally use
an arrow to represent a vector, you really must label the vector arrow with
some notation like B
%
for a velocity or F
3
for a force.
Bectors are shown in diagrams as an arrow that is scaled to a certain length.
Thus there is a scaling factor, that must include units. For example, if you were
showing velocity vectors, and used a scaling factor of % cm:%? m@s, then for
every centimeter of length for the arrow that you draw, the arrow would be
indicating %? m@s. Thus if the arrow were %.E cm in length, then it would be
indicating a velocity of %E m@s. The direction of the velocity is .ust given by the
direction of the arrowD 5ikewise, if the velocity were <E m@s, then the arrow
length would have to be <.E cm long. -ow one thing this means is that you can
actually move the arrow around on the page, and as long as you donIt change its
length or direction, it still represents the same vectorD 9emember that on Free
/ody !iagrams "F/!Is#, $ had the forces always be represented by arrows with
the tail on the ob.ect, and the arrow directed away from the ob.ect, even if that
force arrow represented a push on the ob.ect. ,aking all of the arrows lead
away from the ob.ect makes it clearer to identify the minuses and pluses for
adding up the forces, and we can do so by the fact that they still represent the
same vector "as long as we donIt change length or direction of the arrow#.
-ow if the 'uantity you are measuring is all along a single line, then we
have what are called one dimensional vectors. These vectors are easy to work
with, because we can indicate the direction with .ust a plus or a minus sign in
front of them. $f you kno, that the 'uantity is a vector, and there is no plus in
front of the value, then you .ust assume a plus sign "or determine it from the
direction of the arrow, if shown#.
=uppose that we want to add two vectors. $f they are one)dimensional, then
we can actually add them to each other in the standard way of adding numbers
once we have decided on which direction is positive. *e .ust have to treat the
%?H +ump to Table of (ontents
vectors going in the negative direction as negative numbers. $ would like to
introduce at this point the so)called graphical solution for adding vectors.
6.! ;raphical ol+tion 1or Addin- Vectors
The -raphical sol+tion for adding vectors is to represent them on paper as
arrows that have been scaled to the proper length. This means that once you
have set the scale "like 7 -ewtons : % cm# that you draw the vectors on the
paper using the scale to make the length of the arrow correspond to the amount
of the vector "force in this example#. The graphical solution to adding vectors
is to take the second vector that you are adding to the first, scale it using the
same scale "for example, if the second vector were E -ewtons, then it would
have a length of E N
% cm
7 N
= %.&Gcm # to 7 significant digits. Mou then
translate the vector "that means move it across the paper, ,itho+t changing its
length or direction#, until its tail, is exactly on the arrow head tip. 0ven though
we speak of moving the vector, we usually .ust draw it initially at the tip of
the first vector, or after drawing the vector at a convenient location "like where
the force originates in the example#, and then drawing a duplicate to it, with its
tail at the tip of the first vector.
<oteD 0ven though vectors may represent many 'uantities with totally different
units "like force, displacement, velocity, acceleration, etc.#, they must scale to a
length unit for the paper "like centimeter, inches, etc.# 5ikewise, you cannot
add two vectors if they are different 'uantities, like an acceleration vector added
to a velocity vector. =ometimes figures will show several different 'uantities as
arrow vectors on a figure, to illustrate what is going on, but a vector diagram
used for addition can only have one type of 'uantity for addition at a timeD
The sum of the two vectors, called a res+ltant, is found to be the vector
represented by a newly formed vector from the tail of the first vector to the tip
of the second vector. This is illustrated below in Figure E.% with two forces.
%?J +ump to Table of (ontents
=uppose two farmers are trying to pull a stump out of the ground, and they
have two horses doing the pulling. The two pulls on the stump are shown
below, and you can see that horse 3 is pulling harder than horse % "but in a
different direction#:
-ow the ability to actually pull the stump out of the ground is given by
adding the two vectors together and finding the sum of the two forces as a
single e'uivalent force. This can be done by adding the two vectors together
tip)to)tail as shown in Figure E.3 below:
$n the above Figure E.3 we have added F
3
to F
%
, and you might wonder if we
%%? +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 6." Force vectors on stump
being pulled.
F
%
F
3


Fi-+re 6.! =um of Force vectors on stump being pulled.
"9esultant or =um is given as blue dashed line.#
F
%
F
3
9esultant
could add F
%
to F
3
and get the same resultant "sum#. This is called the
commutative property in mathematics. =o lets see if that would work. Take a
look at Figure E.7 below:
$t sure looks like the dashed line is the same length and direction "meaning
that the sum or resultant is the same either way you add these. 5etIs combine
these into one diagram, shown in Figure E.<.
%%% +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 6.3 =um of Force vectors on stump being pulled.
"9esultant or sum is given as blue dashed line.#
F
%
F
3
9esultant
-ow with Figure E.< above, you can see that you get the same length of
resultant "or sum# of the two vectors, if they are added together, no .atter
,hich vector is added to the otherD This also shows what is commonly called
the parallelogram method, because if the vectors are added both ways, then you
see that you have formed a parallelogram, with the resultant going from one
vertex of the parallelogram to the opposite vertexD *e can thus see that the
resultant force on the stump, while being -reater than either force alone, is less
than if you .ust added the two force values together as numbers and not using
vector addition.
-ow this graphical method can be used to add two vectors together, and then
by measuring the resultant vectors length and direction, and using the same
scaling factor that you used for the two original vectors that you added, and a
protractor. The limit on the accuracy of this method is .ust the limit on how
carefully you draw the vectors on graph paper, "and bigger vectors are much
easier and more accurate to measure#.
=ubtracting one vector from another is also done easily by this method.
=uppose you need to subtract B
%
from B
3
. Mou first .ust draw an arrow
representing B
%
, using a scaling factor as before, and then you add a vector
that is exactly like B
3
, but pointed in the opposite directionD Mou add this new
%%3 +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 6.# =um of Force vectors on stump being pulled.
"9esultant or sum is given as blue dashed line.#
F
%
F
3
9esultant
F
%
F
3
negative vector by using the tip)to)tail method as before, and it is .ust like
you subtracted the original B
3
from B
%
.
$f both vectors are one dimensional "along a straight line#, then the
parallelogram .ust collapses into a straight line by having no area. This is the
only vector case, where the parallelogram method does not work, but that
doesnIt matter, because then you can simply add the two vectors lengths
"allowing for a negative vector by subtracting its length#.
-ow we have considered two vectors added together, but this method can
also be used when adding three or more vectors. $n doing so, you can think of
adding the first two vectors tip)to)tail, and then .ust adding the third vector to
the tip of the resultant of the first two vectors, but if you think about this for a
while, you will see that it is .ust the same as adding all three vectors using the
tip)to)tail method. For example, in the previous case of two forces on the
stump, we can simply put three ropes on the stump, and add all three forces
using the tip)to)tail method as shown in Figure E.E below:
-ow letIs focus a little on practical matters, like where the use of vectors can
help us. *e have seen in the previous examples of forces acting on a stump
that we can add up force vectors, and the ob.ect will act as though a single
vector called the resultant were acting upon the ob.ect "thus making it easier to
calculate the resulting motion using -ewtonIs 3
nd
5aw for the ob.ect. *e can
%%7 +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 6.6 Adding three Force vectors on a stump being pulled.
F
7
F
%
F
%
F
3
F
3
F
7
9esultant
also add two velocities to find a resultant velocity, but we need to consider what
that means.
6ne good simple example is: "place example here#
6.3 %reakin- Vectors *nto 2o.ponents
-ow at this point we need to look at another way to add vectors, because as
well as being a way to add and subtract vectors, it is a way to find out the effect
of the part of a vector that is operating in one direction. This is to break a
vector into its components. The components of a vector are the portions of the
vector operating in a particular direction, and the components of a vector must
add up to the original vector. $n other words, the original vector must be the
resultant of adding its components.
The most typical method is to look at the component of a vector in the x
direction, and the component of the vector in the y direction "where the x
direction is often the hori8ontal direction, and the y direction is often either the
vertical direction, or another hori8ontal direction#. *e are not limited to doing
it this way, but it is usual to pick the directions in order to help the problem at
hand in some way. Any ti.e yo+ +se co.ponentKs 1or solvin- a proble.( it
.+st be very clear ,hat the co.ponentKs directions 1or the proble. areB
For this textbook, the directions will always be orthogonal "at right angles to
each other# and we are usually going to look at only two directions, where the
third direction "usually the 8 direction, which would be at right angles to the
first two#.
First letIs try to take a simple displacement and break it components. For
basic concepts, $ will limit the use of angles to 7?
o
, <E
o
, &?
o
, and J?
o
. For other
angles, we can use trigonometry to calculate components, but for these angles
we can use the standard 7?
o
) &?
o
) J?
o
and <E
o
) <E
o
) J?
o
triangle ratios to
determine the components. These side ratio lengths are shown below in Figure
E.&:
%%< +ump to Table of (ontents
<or angles other than these relatively common ones, one can use
trigonometry to determine the components.
6ne of the hardest concepts to understand about breaking their components
is that there are .any ways or doing so, but using different component
directions. *hile all orthogonal "right angle# directions components are
mathematically valid, usually only one set of directions is useful to help solve
the problem at handD =ee Figure E.G below:
%%E +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 6.7 =tandard 7?
o
) &?
o
) J?
o
and <E
o
) <E
o
) J?
o
triangle with the
side)to)hypothenuse ratios used to determine components.
%
7
3
%
3
%
3
3
3
3
&?
o
7?
o
<E
o
<E
o
For example, letIs look at a cart on a ramp that is angled at 7?
o
. This is
shown in Figure E.H below.
%%& +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 6.9 A vector can be broken into many different pairs of
orthogonal components, and where each of these pairs of
components can be added up to be the original, usually only one of
these pairs will be helpful in solving the problem. Three such pairs
are shown here.
6riginal
Bector
Barious
6rthogonal
(omponents
*hen we look at the forces on the cart, we see that there is a gravitational
force down on the cart, and a normal force directly away from the ramp. *e
could break these vertical and hori8ontal force components, and we see that the
Fg is already has only a vertical component, and since the cart has negligible
friction, it can be accelerating and so we canIt really tell what the magnitude of
the normal force isD $n this case, if we want to find out the acceleration of the
%%G +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 6.: For a negligible friction cart on a ramp, you should break
the gravitational force "black# into normal and parallel "to the ramp#
components "dashed dark blue#, then moving the parallel part down
to complete the triangle, you see that you have a 7?)&?)J? triangle.
=ince the Fg" # on the cart is canceled by the Fn by the ramp on
the cart, the only force component on the cart is Fg"^^#, which is .ust
X FgD This will be the only force on the cart, and can be used to
calculate its acceleration down the ramp.
7?
o
(
a
r
t
F
g
F
g" #
F
g"^^#
F
n
by ramp
on (art
9
a
m
p
F
g"^^#
cart, we really should break the force vector components that are perpendicular
"# and parallel "^^# to the ramp surface. This is illustrated in Figure E.H below:
For the case above, since the only force down along the ramp is X F
g
, the
acceleration down the ramp is thus:
which means the acceleration down the ramp for a negligible friction cart is
X g, as long as the slope is 7?
o
. For <E
o
it would be
3
3
g
[ ?.G?G g. For any
other angle, you would need to use trigonometry to solve for the parallel
component.
%%H +ump to Table of (ontents
a =
<
net
m
=
%
3
<
g
m
=
%
3
m g
m
=
%
3
g
6.# 2o.ponents /sed 1or Addin-
he other way that breaking vectors into components is used, is to simply
add or subtract vectors more precisely. 7t is simply that from a math class on
vectors, the sum of two (or more) vectors is 2ust a new vector with each
component being the sum of the same direction components of the original
vectors. he direction angle and magnitude of the new vector is given now, not
by 2ust measuring it with a protractor, but calculating the angle using
trigonometry with the new components, and calculating the magnitude of the
new vector using basically the :ythagorean theorem, so for example, if a new
vector v had components x and y as shownC
hen the magnitude of v = RvR = x
3
y
3
and the
angle > = arctan

y
x

= an
9?

y
x

since the arctan and an

9?
actually mean the
same thing.
Now let us take a look at a few examples of the use of vector componentsC
1xample 6: & person walks north =.F meters at a BF
o
angle north of east, and
then directly south B.F meters as shownC
%%J +ump to Table of (ontents
v
x
y
S
he first vector must be broken vector componentsC
?
st
vectorC ((=.F m T cos (BF
o
), =.F m T sin (BF
o
)) = (4.F m, 4.F m)
4
nd
vectorC ((B.F m T cos (9D5
o
), B.F m T sin (9D5
o
)) = (5.5 m, 9B.F m)
which add up to (4.F m U 5.5 m, 4.F m U 9B.F m) = (4.F m, 94.5 m)
= ,esultant V
giving a magnitude of the resultant asC
RR =

(3.Em)
3
+ (3.? m)
3
= %?.3m
3
= 7.3 m
and the angle S = arctan
(
3.Em
<.Em
)
= 94G.G
o
which points out that the angle can be listed as 94G.G
o
(using standard position
for angles) or simply as 4G.G
o
and the direction is taken from the diagram.
&lso, please note that the number of significant digits in an angle does not have
the same meaning as significant digits in numbers, so 7 often permit one extra
significant digit for angle measurements (especially when using degrees).
1xample <: & person is in a rowboat. /e is rowing north across a river that is
flowing directly eastward with a velocity of v

= ?.D m@s. /e is facing

backwards, and straining really hard, he is rowing northward with a velocity of
%3? +ump to Table of (ontents
=.F m
B.F m
BF
o
,esultant
S
v
p
= 4.G m@s (this is how fast he is going relative to the water, which is the same
as his speed if we were rowing on a calm lake). $ince he is facing backwards
toward the south, he doesn't notice that the river is pulling him eastward from
the point he was aiming for originally, so what is his resultant velocity (with
respect to the bank of the river) and what is the angle that he is actually
travelingM his is illustrated in the <igure F.D belowC
%3% +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 6.9 A .an ro,s directly north across a river 1lo,in-
directly east,ard. Ne is 1acin- back,ard( and doesnKt see that he
is not -oin- strai-ht across the river( b+t is bein- carried by the
c+rrent to a landin- do,nstrea. 1ro. ,here he ,as ai.in-. *1
the rivers velocity is ".9 .Os east,ard( and he is ro,in- !.: .Os
north,ard (relative to the ,ater$( ,hat is his act+al res+ltant
velocity ' relative to the bank( and ,hat an-le P is he act+ally
-oin-4
,iverbank
,iverbank
W
p
= 4.G m@s
W
,
= ?.D m@s
, = M m@s P = M
3here he will
actually land
Now the magnitude of the resultant isC
RR
=

(3.Hm/ s)
3
+ (%.J m/ s)
3
=

%%.<E(m/ s)
3
= 7.7H<m/ s

= 7.< m/ s "to 3 sig. digits#
and the angle S = arctan

%.J m/ s
3.Hm/ s

= =B.4
o
+ of N.
he + of N stands for east of north. hat means that you start with the
northward direction and swing the angle =B.4
o
eastward from the northward
starting direction.
1xample /: & person is again in a rowboat. /e is rowing north across a river
that is flowing directly eastward with a velocity of v

= ?.D m@s. /e is facing

backwards, but now he has a partner to tell him which direction to aim so that
he will go directly north across the river. /e can still row with a velocity of v
p
= 4.G m@s (this is how fast he is going relative to the water, which is the same as
his speed if we were rowing on a calm lake), but now he wants to go directly
north across the river. 7n this circumstance, what is the direction that he must
aim the boat, and what will be his resultant velocity (with respect to the bank of
the river) nowM his is illustrated in the <igure F.?5 belowC
%33 +ump to Table of (ontents
Now this problem is different than the previous one. 7n this case we know the
direction of the resultant, but not the magnitude of the resultant, (he wants to
go directly north). $ince this is the case, from the right triangle in <igure F.?5,
we see that the :ythagorean theorem givesC
W
p
4
= ,
4
U W
,
4
which givesC
, =

(W
p
)
3
(W
,
)
3
=

(3.H m/ s)
3
(%.Jm/ s)
3
= 3.?EGm/ s
= 4.? m@s northward (to 4 sig. digits)
%37 +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 6."0 This ti.e the .an ,ants to ro, directly north across
the river( so he .+st ai. at an an-le P +pstrea.. *1 the rivers
velocity is ".9 .Os east,ard( and he is ro,in- at a speed o1 !.: .Os
(relative to the ,ater$( ,hat is his act+al res+ltant velocity '
relative to the bank( and ,hat an-le P .+st he ai. the boat( so
that the res+ltant velocity ' is north,ard4
,iverbank
,iverbank
W
p
= 4.G m@s
W
,
= ?.D m@s
, = M m@s P = M
3here he will
actually land
he angle that the boat must be aimed isC

] C arcsin
(
W
,
W
p
)
= =in
(%)
(
%.J m/ s
3.H m/ s
)
= <3.G
o
* of -
he 3 of N stands for west of north in this case.
7n these problems, if the person !wants" to do something, or !should" do
something, that is often a hint that resultant information is being given (either
magnitude or direction or both) and you are re.uired to search for some
information on one of the vectors that add up to the resultant%
%3< +ump to Table of (ontents
6.6 ProLectile 5otion as an Application 1or /sin- Vector 2o.ponents
6ne of the standard 'uestions of pro.ectile motion, is the shape of the path
for a pro.ectile.
o find the shape of the path, we need to find the function of y(x), or y as a
function of x. 7f we have this function rather than y as a function of time, then
we can draw a graph of y vs x and figure out the shape. o figure this out we
first use the e.uation for the x position of the pro2ectile as a function of time
and solve for timeC
x = v
ox
t
thus
t =
x
v
ox
e.. F.?
Now the vertical position y is also a function of tC
y = y
o
+ v
oy
t +
%
3
g t
3
e.. F.4
7f we replace every value of t in e.. F.4 with the value of t found in e.. F.? we
getC
y = y
o
+ v
oy
x
v
ox
+
%
3
g
x
3
v
ox
3
or
y = y
o
+
v
oy
v
ox
x +
g
3v
ox
3
x
3
thus, with
v
oy
v
ox
= ; and
g
3 v
ox
3
= &
where both ; and & are constant values for the entire pro2ectile motion
period, we have
%3E +ump to Table of (ontents
y = & x
3
+ ; x + 0
if
0 = v
oy
and with &, ;, and 0 being constants for the entire pro2ectile motion period, the
graph of y(x) is the e.uation of a parabola.
Thus, any pro.ectile will follow the path of a parabola, assuming no force
other than gravity is working on the pro.ectile "no air resistance, magnetism,
electrostatic forces, etc.#. This is illustrated in Figure E.%% below:
%3& +ump to Table of (ontents
%3G +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re 6."" ro.ectile motion for cannonball dropped from helicopter "distances
and velocities are both downward# showing parabolic motion using g V %? m@s.
t C G s, d [ 3<E m, v [ G? m@s
t C & s, d [ %H? m, v [ &? m@s
t C % s, d [ E m, v [ %? m@s
(annonball
t C 3 s, d [ 3? m, v [ 3? m@s
t C 7 s, d [ <E m, v [ 7? m@s
t C < s, d [ H? m, v [ <? m@s
t C E s, d [ %3E m, v [ E? m@s
t C ? s, d C ? m, v C ? m@s
$nitial velocity of
helicopter and
cannonball.
2hapter 7. 3hat is 8ner-y4
7." *ntrod+ctionD The 8ner-y 2risisB
At the time of the writing of this book "=ummer 3??H#, the 1nited =tates,
and the rest of the world has seen some ma.or difficulties with regards to energy
and fuel. 6il prices have .umped to well over P%7? per barrel, up from about
P3? per barrel in the year %JJJ. This has caused the cost of gasoline to increase
dramatically to well over P<.3? "1=# per gallon "about P%.%? "1=# per liter#,
and has changed the summer plans of many people, myself included. 6ur
familyIs summer plans changed from a trip through =outh !akota to a shorter
trip through Mellowstone ark with some stops to visit friends and scenery. *e
shortened our planned trip by about X , at least partially to reduce the gasoline
cost of the trip. Although those prices are small potatoes to what many people
pay, especially in 0urope, it was a sudden and abrupt rise in the cost of fuel for
most Americans. There are presently many discussed possible causes such as
commodities market speculation, 60( purposely decreasing production, the
world being at peak oil production due to supplies simply running out, law of
supply and demand, etc. Lowever, it is pretty clear that the past period of
energy production mainly from fossil fuels seems destined to end sometime
during the lives of most of the people reading this textbook.
0ven though the cost of energy@fuel will go through both increases and
decreases over the next decade, the steady "or possibly abrupt# trend will be
upward, $ suspect. $ think that what we are seeing this year is .ust the beginning
of what could be either a fairly ma.or or an almost catastrophic energy crisis in
the coming years. $ am not worried about the really long)term energy usage, as
there are many other possible energy sources "some will be mentioned in this
book#N but $ do fear that the rise in prices may be too abrupt and produce a crisis
far greater then the occasional change of travel plans that we have seen so far.
At some point there will certainly be an energy crisis coming, and so you
should at least know what energy isD
7.! 3hat is 8ner-y4
$t is a little unusual to place the unit on energy this early in the textbook,
because energy is actually a relatively late concept developed in physics. 0ven
%3H +ump to Table of (ontents
though it is a late development, it is so critical that almost all definitions of
physics invoke matter and energy as part of their definition, .ust as $ did in
(hapter %. The real strength of the concept of energy comes from the fact that
energy is conserved "which we will go into later#. The only way that this
could be studied was if energy could be measured or 'uantifiedD 1nfortunately,
while everyone knew that when an ob.ect was heated it needed energy to do it,
nobody really could measure how energy was related to heat. This was changed
in the mid %H??Is by an 0nglish physicist, +ames rescott +oule "%H%H)%HHJ#
who worked out the e'uivalence of heat and mechanical work. This developed
into an entire branch of physics known as thermodynamics. *hen heatIs
relationship to energy was better understood and could be measured, the
concept of energy rose immensely in importance for physics, to its extreme
relevance today.
$ am actually going to give two definitions for energy. The first is is a
'ualitative one, that says:
"
st
)e1initionD ?8ner-y is so.ethin- that can be chan-ed into the heatin-
o1 an obLect@.
This definition is not the typical one, but may give you a better feeling about
what energy really isD For example, typically most energy sources are fossil
fuels that, when burned, produce heat. This heat can be used in many ways. $t
can be used directly to heat buildings. For electricity, heat can be used to turn a
turbine to produce electricity, or for transportation, heat from fossil fuels causes
a piston in the engine to move back and forth in the engine, which turns wheels,
which in turn pushes the car, train, bus, truck, etc. forward. $n the case of the
home, various fuels such as coal, oil etc. can be used to produce electricity,
which is not an energy source, but a transport of energy from the original fuels
to the home. $n the home the electricity is used to heat water, run furnaces and
air conditioners, run computers, televisions, home entertainment centers, lights,
etc. /ut in the end, all of this electricity ends up as heat either in the home, or
dumped outside of it by the air conditioning system.
The second definition of energy is the more standard one, which will permit
'uantitative measurements of energy, and is:
%3J +ump to Table of (ontents
!
nd
)e1initionD ?8ner-y is the capacity to do ,ork@
-ow this definition is a little harder to understand, but is actually the far better
one to use to 'uantify, or actually measure changes in energy. The problem is
that the word work here, has a very special use in physics that is B09M
different from its everyday common usageD $t is so different that it would
probably be much better if they found a new word for it, but they didnIt, so .ust
get used to itD ,oreover, there is a temptation to think of energy and work as
being identical, but work is much more closely related to .ust one type of
energy, which we will get to later when we look at the work energy principle
in section &)<.
$n physics, the work done on an ob.ect is .ust the component of force on an
ob.ect "in the direction of the ob.ectIs displacement# multiplied by the ob.ectIs
actual displacement. Thus we can reduce this to an e'uation like:
* C F
QQ
Z d C F Z d cos ]
where * stands for work in the physics sense, F stands for the force applied
to the ob.ect, and d stands for the displacement of the ob.ect. F
QQ
stands for the
component of the force that is in the direction of the displacement, and the
angle ] is the angle between the force vector F and the displacement of the
ob.ect d. -otice that both F and d are in bold font, because both have direction,
and are thus vectorsD $t is also very important to reali8e that if there is no
displacement in the direction of the force, then there is ?ero work done in the
physics senseD
*hat is important to understand is that mathematically, the first
multiplication is called a dot product or a scaler product of the two vectors,
and thus produces a scaler, and not a vector, as the product. Thus work is a
scaler and it has no directionD This is the e'uivalent of the second
multiplication, where the magnitudes of the force and displacement are
multiplied together, and that result is then multiplied by the cosine of the angle
between them. -ote that in the second multiplication F and d are not in
bold because they are not vectors, but .ust the magnitudes of the vectors,
without direction.
%7? +ump to Table of (ontents
-ow before we show some examples to demonstrate what we mean by this,
we need to determine the units for work, which are the same as for energyD
=ince the definition of work in a physics sense is basically .ust a force times a
displacement, the units for work are .ust:
/nits o1 8ner-y I 1nits of Force _ 1nits of displacement
I
(kgm)
(s
3
)
R "m#
I
(kgm
3
)
( s
3
)
I +oule "rhymes with pool#
I S (this is the sy.bol 1or So+le$

5etIs look at some examples of workD
For Figure &.% below, you can see that the person on the left is holding the
barbell up. =ince he is .ust holding it in place, and not moving it, it is
undergoing no displacement, and so the force that he is exerting on it is
multiplied by 8ero displacement, and he is doing no work on the barbellD
"Although he is starting to sweat up a storm, and certainly thinks that he is
working.# This is more clearly understood by replacing the person with a
marble column that the barbell rests upon, as shown on the right. $n this case it
is clear that there is no displacement, and thus no work, and the barbell can rest
there forever, "or until the marble crumbles with time#D The sweating and
straining that the person is doing is the muscle cells and fibers of his body and
arms fighting against each other and straining to provide the normal force
upward on the barbell to oppose the gravitational force downward. *hile this
might be work in the everyday sense, it is not work in the physics sense, as
the person can be replaced by a simple marble column with no new energy
needed.
%7% +ump to Table of (ontents
5ikewise, if the person holding a mass like a box is walking hori8ontally with
the box, but not accelerating, then they are applying a force vertically on the
box "to counteract the downward force of gravity on the box#, while displacing
it hori8ontally. This means that the displacement in the direction of the force is
8ero, and no work is being done in a physics sense. Mou could also multiply the
force by the displacement and then multiply by the cosine of the angle ]
between them, which would be cos"J?
o
#, which is 8ero, or the same answerD
This is for the time that they are moving hori8ontally with a constant velocity,
and not while they are starting up and accelerating hori8ontally, during which
time they would momentarily supply work to the box.
7.3 Vario+s Ainds o1 8ner-y
-ow that we are starting to get an idea of what work is "in the physics
sense#, we need to reali8e that there are many different kinds of energy that can
produce work. For example, you can have a hammer swinging at a nail. *hen
it strikes the nail, it will apply a large force for a short distance "the distance
that the nail is driven into the wood#, which is work. =o the energy to produce
this work existed in the motion of the hammer, and this energy as motion is
called kinetic energy "this is often abbreviated 40#. Any ob.ect in motion
%73 +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 7." Lolding barbell versus supported barbell
/arbell held
motionless.
-o *orkF
/arbell held
motionless.
-o *orkD
possesses kinetic energy. As you might guess, if the velocity is the same,
then an ob.ect with more mass will possess more kinetic energy. $f the masses
are the same, then the ob.ect with more velocity will possess more kinetic
energy. The exact relationship is given in the next section.
=ometimes ob.ects possess energy because of their position. That normally
happens if you have to do some work to an ob.ect to get it into that position.
An example is a mass attached to a spring. $f you let the mass go, after a while
"due to friction# it settles into a motionless position called e'uilibrium. $n order
to pull it from that e'uilibrium position, you have to do work on it, because
there is a net force toward that e'uilibrium position by the spring. Thus in each
new position you stretch "or compress# the spring to, you will be doing work on
it, and it will possess a type of energy called otential 0nergy "this is often
abbreviated 0#. This is energy because the force of the spring will do work,
as the spring returns the ob.ect to e'uilibrium when it is released. An example
of this stored energy is any wind)up toy that uses a spring to store energy for
later motion.
Another example of potential energy is due to gravity. =ince this force is
downward, and will basically do work on any ob.ect dropping downward,
then the higher an ob.ect is located, the more potential energy due to gravity
this ob.ect has. An example of this is the stored potential energy of water
behind a dam that is at a high elevation, and when it drops down through the
turbines of an electrical generator produces electrical energy for us.
Leat is also a form of energy, since it can often do work in a physics sense.
As an example the heat of the burning "or exploding# gasoline or diesel in a car
or truck engine does work on the pistons and give a huge push to them that
transfers through a system of cams and gears to a push on the wheels that
pushes the car or truck forward. At a power plant, the heat of burning fuel
pushes the turbine and produces electrical energy for us.
(hemical energy "such as we have in fossil fuels# is also a form of energy. $t
is usually in stored form, since the energy is not released until two chemicals
are combined "fuel and oxygen for example#, sometimes with heat such as a
spark to start the reaction. 6ne reason fossil fuels have been so popular for
these last few decades, is that they solve both the energy production problem,
%77 +ump to Table of (ontents
and the energy storage problem of having energy available to us at any time that
we wish to have it do work for us.
There are an incredible number of different forms of energy in existence, and
as we will show later, most of the different forms of energy can be transformed
into other forms of energy. There is chemical energy "as most of our fossil
fuels#, heat energy "when ob.ects are hot#, electrical energy which runs many of
our home appliances and computers, nuclear energy "the energy locked inside
the atom unless released by either atomic fission or atomic fusion from the
appropriate atomic fuel#, radiant energy "from light or other forms of waves#,
etc. For a standard physics class, the two really important forms of energy that
we choose to work with are kinetic and potential energy, so we will cover each
of these in following sections.
%7< +ump to Table of (ontents
7.# Ainetic 8ner-y
-ow that you are "hopefully# beginning to get a little feel for what energy is,
letIs start looking at some of the different forms or types of energy there are.
Two very important types of energy that we will now discuss are kinetic energy
"40# and in the next section , potential energy "0#.
4inetic energy is the energy that a moving ob.ect possesses .ust by the fact
that it is moving with a velocity v. -ow notice that v is not in bold,
because here it simply refers to the magnitude of the velocity "which is .ust
speed# without having any particular direction. $n order for an ob.ect to get into
motion in the first place "assuming that it starts motionless# it must have a push
or pull on it "ie it must have a force on it, to accelerate it from 8ero velocity up
to its moving velocity#. The kinetic energy is thus the amount of work that is
re'uired to get the ob.ect moving this fast. Technically this is translational
kinetic energy to keep it separate from rotational kinetic energy that we will
explore later. As we will show in the following calculation, for a moving
ob.ect 40 C
%
3
m v
3
, where m is the mass of the ob.ect, and v is .ust the
speed of the ob.ect "the velocity without any direction# s'uared.
-ow since the kinetic energy is .ust the amount of work needed to change
an ob.ectIs velocity from 8ero to the velocity "or speed# of v, we can use the
definition of work above to calculate the amount of work needed, which we will
say is the kinetic energy associated with the speed v. 5etIs assume that the
ob.ect is accelerated along a straight line, by applying a force on it "in the
positive direction of the line# for a distance "displacement# of d. =ince the
directions for both the force and the displacement are the same, the work done
will be .ust F
.
d, which is .ust F
.
d cos ], since ] is the angle between the force
and the displacement "so the cos ] must be 8ero in this case since both vectors
are both in the same direction, and the cosine of 8ero is one# :
%7E +ump to Table of (ontents
40 C F
.
d
C ma
%
3
at
3
since <
net
=ma , and d=
%
3
at
3

C
%
3
m "at#
3
C
%
3
m "v#
3


since v C at using e'uation 7)&b
Thus: 40 C
%
3
m v
3
using e'uation 7)&c
%7& +ump to Table of (ontents
7.6 Potential 8ner-y
An ob.ect can store energy by virtue of its position. The energy that is stored
and held in readiness is called Potential 8ner-y (P8$, because in the stored
state it has the potential for doing work. =ome examples of stored potential
energy are in a stretched rubber band, a spring, or an ob.ect at a height.
Technically even the chemical energy in fuels is potential energy, since it is
actually energy of position on a microscopic scale as the position of electric
charges within the molecules of the fuel, but we usually reserve the term for
large scale ob.ects. The two main types of potential energy are gravitational
potential energy "0
grav
# and spring potential energy "0
spring
#.
First we will look at gravitational potential energy. *ork is re'uired to
elevate ob.ects against the earthIs force of gravity. The potential energy due to
elevated positions is called -ravitational potential ener-y. $t is e'ual to the
work done against gravity in lifting it. This work is produced by .ust the
normal force upward on the ob.ect "which must e'ual the gravitational force
downward while the ob.ect is moving upward but not accelerating upward#
times the displacement upward, which is the height that the ob.ect is raised,
which is :
gravitational potential energy C F
-
.
height
or P8
-rav
C mg
.
Ah
note that the height "h# is the distance above some reference level, such as the
ground or the floor of a building. The potential energy ".-h$ is relative to that
level and depends only on .- and the height Ah above that level. 6ften this
reference point is .ust the lowest point an ob.ect can get to in a system. =ince in
this sense, the potential energy is always relative to some reference level, it is
.ust the change in height or Ah which controls the change in 0
grav
, and is
actually importantD
-ext we look at spring potential energy. -ow for a spring, there exists an
empirical law "based upon experimental results# called LookeIs 5aw, which
states that the force that a spring applies is proportional to the distance from
%7G +ump to Table of (ontents
e'uilibrium that the spring is stretched, or .ust F
spring
C ) k Ax. The negative
value .ust means that the force of the spring has a direction that is trying to
return the spring to its e'uilibrium position. =ince the force is linear with
distance, the actual work done to stretch the spring "which is the same as the
potential energy that the spring holds when stretched# is .ust the average
force, which is exactly X the maximum force times the total displacement,
which will give:
spring potential energy C F
spring
"avg#

.
Total
displacement
or P8
sprin-
C X F
spring
"max#
.
Ax
P8
sprin-
C X "k Ax#
.
Ax
P8
sprin-
C X k "Ax#
3

-ow that we have considered both kinetic energy and potential energy, we
can also state that, except for radiant energy such as light, fundamentally many
"if not all# other forms of energy can be thought of as some form of either of
these two types of energy. (hemical energy is really all about electrons being
in different positions in the molecule. !ue to the tremendous forces of the
electric fields of the atom, this changes the potential energy of the molecule,
and thus accounts for stored chemical energy "even though we donIt need to
think about this aspect of it, when we are burning gasoline in our car engine#.
$ndeed heat energy in all forms is simply the motion "either translational,
rotational, or vibrational# of the individual atoms or molecules or particles
making up the ob.ect, li'uid, or gas has been heated. Thus heat energy can be
viewed ultimately as .ust the sum of the kinetic energy of each particle of matter
being heated. $ndeed, finding out how much energy is actually totaled up and
can be converted into useful energy is an entire branch of physics called
statistical thermodynamics.
7.7 Friction
Friction between solid surfaces is caused by the fact the the surface of
%7H +ump to Table of (ontents
ob.ects, even if they seem to be very smooth, are notD The very small
irregularities on the surfaces means that when they slide over each other, the
irregularities will snag on each other and produce microscopic forces opposite
the relative motion. The sum of all of these microscopic forces adds up in our
everyday world as a single force in the direction opposite the relative motion
that tries to slow down or halt the relative motion between two ob.ects.
7.9 3ork-8ner-y Principle
here is a temptation to consider work and energy to be identical, but while
they are W+,I closely related, they are not identical. his brings us to the
3ork9+nergy principle in physics which comes from looking at the definition of
work. $ince work is defined to beC
3 = %
@@
X d = < X d cos P
which is 2ust the applied force on the ob2ect times the displacement vector
component (in the direction of the force), we can look at the !total" work, as
the total (vector sum) of the forces times the displacement vector. his leads us
to the following derivationC
his leads us to the 3ork9+nergy :rinciple, that states that the net work on an
ob2ect is 2ust e.ual to the change in its Ninetic +nergy%
his leads us to the confusing idea that !work" is only related to Ninetic
%7J +ump to Table of (ontents
3
tot
= <
net
d assume0onstant <orce
= mad (don' t get mad yet %)
= ma( Y ) letting Y represent the displacement
= ma Y regrouping
= m
%
3
(v
f
3
v
i
3
) by rearranging 7%?c (v
f
3
=v
i
3
+3 a x)
=
%
3
mv
f
3

%
3
mv
i
3
= N+
f
N+
i
the definition of Ninetic +nergy.
+nergy, but that is not really true, and 7 will try to clarify it for you. (et us look
at a person pushing horizontally on a box sliding at a constant velocity across
the floor. 7f he pushes it horizontally a displacement d, then you would expect
the work done to be on the box to be %Xd. /owever, you notice that the velocity
of the box is not changing during the time that you are pushing it horizontally,
so the initial and final kinetic energies are the same, indicating zero net work is
done on the box (from the 3ork9+nergy principle derived above). his is
confusing until you look at a <ree ;ody Ziagram for the box, shown in <igure
A.4 belowC
7n order for the ;ox to be moving at a constant velocity (no acceleration)
there must be zero net force on the ;ox. hat is only possible if there is a force
backward to counteract the push forward. :resumably this is a friction force by
the floor backward on the box. Now we see that the net force on the box is zero,
and thus even with a displacement, the net work will also be zero% Now the
push forward is actually doing work on the box (positive work). his is putting
energy into the box that would become speed and kinetic energy, but the friction
is doing work on the box also (negative since the frictional force and the
displacement are in opposite directions[ P = ?G5
o
) and thus represents energy
being lost from the box (lost as frictional heat generated)%
Now let's look at the case of lifting a heavy ob2ect. &s you saw in <igure
A.?, holding a barbell vertically at a single position may cause a strain on your
muscles, but does no actual work on the barbell because the displacement is
%<? +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 7.! Free /ody !iagram for the /ox being pushed at a
constant velocity
/ox
F
fr
) Friction by floor
backward on /ox.
"does negative work#
F
n
) ush by person
forward on /ox.
"does positive work#
zero. +ven if you were moving horizontally with the barbell, you would still be
doing no actual work (in the physics sense) since the force on the barbell is
vertical and the displacement is horizontal or D5
o
from each other. 7f on the
other hand, you are lifting the barbell vertically at a constant velocity for a
vertical displacement d, then you are doing work on the barbell. ;ut once
again, if the barbell's velocity is constant, then the kinetic energies at the
beginning and end of the displacement are the same, and \N is once again zero
and the total work on the barbell is zero% &gain, look at a <ree ;ody Ziagram
in <igure A.= below and you will see what is happeningC
Now in this case, again, the net force must be zero for a constant velocity
upward, meaning that the push upward is e.ual but opposite to the
gravitational force downward. 3e see that there is positive work done on the
%<% +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 7.3 Free %ody )ia-ra. 1or barbells bein-
p+shed vertically +p,ard at a constant velocity
F
g
> 2ravitational force
downward by 0arth on /arbell.
"does negative work#
/arbell
F
n
) ush by person
upward on /arbell.
"does positive work#
barbell by the person pushing upward. hat makes sense because the direction
of the push by the person, and the direction of the displacement are the same so
the work is positive. he gravitational force, however, is downward, and is
opposite the push upward by the person. hus the work due by this force is
negative, and is exactly opposite the work done by the force upward. he sum
of the work (3
tot
) is thus zero in this case also% his is slightly different from
the previous case where the positive work was lost due to friction (the energy
essentially escaped). 7n this case the work being done on the barbell which
should have increased its kinetic energy went instead into potential energy of
increasing the height of the barbell. 7n this case, the positive work is not lost
from the system as before, but stays in the system as :+ to be recovered when
the barbell is lowered or dropped% 7f for example this were done far out in
space where there is negligible gravitational force, the force of the push
!upward"] would accelerate the barbell, and it would end up moving
!upward" faster and faster, satisfying the 3ork9+nergy principle of increasing
the N+ due to the net !work" done on the barbell.
]
#ne of the main uses of the 3ork9+nergy :rinciple is that if you know N+
i

and N+
f
(which can be determined if you know the initial and final velocities),
and know one force (like gravitational force for example), you can determine
the other unknown force (like friction or air resistance).
7.: 2onservative Forces
he key difference in the two examples given before are the nature of the two
forces. he frictional force is not a conservative force, while the gravitational
force is conservative. 0onservative forces have the property that, when work is
done by the force times displacement (in the direction of the force), the work is
stored as a form of energy that you can recover at a later time. 7n other words,
as you push an ob2ect upward against the gravitational force, the work done on
the ob2ect is stored as gravitational potential energy. his can be recovered as
N+, by simply letting go of the ob2ect, and as it accelerates downward from the
gravitational force, the gravitational potential energy (mg\h) is converted to an
e.ual amount of kinetic energy.
& non9conservative force (like friction or air resistance) converts the work
_ lease donIt give me a hassle about upward since without gravity there is no
up or down in space, .ust a direction.
%<3 +ump to Table of (ontents
into a form of energy that you cannot recover the force from (like the heat of
friction). 7n this case the energy of the work ends up as heat that cannot be
converted back directly into a force.
&s a result of this, it can be shown (but 7'm not going to do it here) that the
total work done by a conservative force is independent of the path the ob2ect
takes for a given displacement. hat means that the total work re.uired to
move an ob2ect from any point & to any point ; is the exact same amount of
work, regardless of the path chosen for the ob2ect. his also means that for any
closed loop path, where the starting and ending points are at the exact same
position, the total work is e.ual to zero for such a closed loop path. $ince
friction is always a non9conservative force, this means there can be no friction
on this path%
%<7 +ump to Table of (ontents
7.9 2onservation o1 8ner-y
The first conservation law of physics that we are going to learn about is
called (onservation of 0nergy. A conservation law of some concept in
physics means that what you start with, is what you end with. $n this case,
conservation of energy means that if you add up all of the energy at some time,
and it adds up to a certain amount, then later "perhaps after some event occurs#,
if you add up all of the energy again, you will get the same amount. This law,
which in classical physics has never been found to be violated, has proven
tremendously useful in solving problems.
The law of conservation of energy really means that it is much more
important to understand how energy behaves, or how it transforms, than to be
able to state what energy is! Another way of stating the law of conservation of
energy, is to say that energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it may be
transformed from one form into another so that the total amount of energy never
changes.
_
This also makes it clearer that for gravitational potential energy, when we
must pick an arbitrary point to have a value of 8ero for the gravitational
potential energy, it doesnIt really matter which point we pick "as long as we
keep using the same point throughout the problem#. $t is really .ust changes
in the potential energy that are important to how the energy is being
transformed, and so the starting point doesnIt really matter to the problem.
The law of conservation of energy is really going back to the idea of energy
being used as an accounting system. $t has proven useful to do so, as a great
many physics problems can be solved using the concept of conservation of
energy.
-ow the law of conservation of energy tells us that if the energy accounting
system is good enough and accounts for every bit of energy being used in a
_ his had to be changed early in the last century to the (aw of the
0onservation of -ass and +nergy, since Zr. +instein showed that mass and
energy are actually two different forms of the same thing, and that under
special circumstances, mass may be converted to energy, and energy may be
converted to mass.
%<< +ump to Table of (ontents
system, that you will have exactly the same amount of energy out of the system,
as was put the system, "although not necessarily in the same form of energy#.
*e also need to look at the term efficiency that is used for a lot of machines.
The term efficiency can be defined to be:
0fficiency C
3
out
3
in
or
)sable or Zesired +nergy
out
otal +nergy
in
-ow this formula does not say that if we have an efficiency of less than %.??
"or %??U# that we have violated the law of conservation of energy. $t .ust
means that some of the input energy was converted some other form of energy
that is not the form that we desired, waste heat for example. The automobile
used to have an efficiency of only %?U ) %EU. This meant that of the energy
content of the gasoline and oxygen that it burned, only %?U to %EU became
kinetic energy of the car "and passengers#. *ith modern improvements, this
efficiency has increased to 3EU to 7?U for many modern cars, with the promise
of even higher efficiencies for future electric and hybrid cars.
The efficiency of lighting devices has a huge range throughout history. For
example, if you are lighting a light bulb with electricity "for example, a filament
light bulb#, you are using electrical energy to push an electrical current through
the filament. This electrical current heats up the filament until it glows first red
hot, then orange, then eventually "actually in a blink of the eye# white hot, and
emits the light that you want. Lowever, in addition to the light that you desire
for the room, the bulb will also be emitting a lot of heatD This might be
considered efficient, if the desired energy output was heat for the room, but you
wanted light in this case. $f you were to apply the e'uation for efficiency in this
case, the desired energy of the light "which is difficult to measure, but can be
done# might only be about %.3 .oules each second, while the total electrical
energy input the bulb is &? .oules each second. $n section &.%% ahead on the
sub.ect of power, you will see that this is a standard &? *att light bulb. -ow
the efficiency of the bulb is thus only about ?.?3 or 3U. Mou can see how the
newer fluorescent light bulbs "which can get up to an efficiency of about HU )
%?U# are a big efficiency improvement. =ome 50! "light emitting diode# bulbs
are even slightly more efficient, but the search for true improvement in lighting
efficiency is not over yet. Mou should also know that when you see lightning
bugs glowing, they are using two chemicals that they produce in their bodies
%<E +ump to Table of (ontents
called luciferin and the en8yme luciferase, to produce light "admittedly only one
color and not white light# but at an ama8ing efficiency of J?UD *hile we have
not even come close to producing light with the efficiency found in nature by
the lightning bug, we have certainly already made incredible advances, since a
candle is only about ?.?<U efficient.
About the only %??U efficient device that $ can think of in practice is an
electric heater. =ince most waste energy in the efficiency e'uation is usually
waste heat, but in an electric heater heat energy is the form of energy desired,
essentially all of the output energy is the desired energy, and thus an electric
heater is %??U efficient. /ut what about the red light coming from the coilsF
$snIt that waste light rather than heatF The answer is that the waste light
will strike the walls and ob.ects in the room and be absorbed, heating the walls
and ob.ects up, and thus producing heat, bring the total efficiency up to %??UD
There is one device that is sometimes advertised as being more than %??U
efficient, and that is a heat pump. This is a refrigerator in reverse that transports
heat from the outside of a house into the house. =ince the heat pump is not .ust
converting the electrical energy that it uses into heat, but instead uses the
electrical energy to pump or move existing heat from outside the house into
the house, it is not truly more than %??U efficient in a physics sense, but in a
practical sense, the heat moved into the house "measured as energy# is actually
more than the electrical energy going into the heat pump, and thus from the
efficiency e'uation would look like greater than %??U efficiency. This is of
great practical benefit when trying to heat a house without using too much
electrical energy.
7."0 5echanical 8ner-y in yste.s
A ma.or source of energy loss in systems comes friction converting some of
the systems energy into heat. $f you can keep the heat from friction to a
minimum, you can often assume such frictional energy loss is negligible, and
can then solve problems by assuming that the sum of the kinetic energy and
potential energy is a constant and you can use this fact to solve problems. The
sum of kinetic energy and potential energy for a system is sometimes referred to
as the mechanical energy of a system. As long as heat from the system, or
stored chemical energy, or outside sources of energy donIt play a part in the
%<& +ump to Table of (ontents
system, you can often make fairly accurate predictions about the system. For
example, in archery, as you pull back on the string of a bow, the bow gains
potential energy "transformed from the action of your arm#. *hen the string is
released, the potential energy of the bow is converted into kinetic energy of the
arrow. As the arrow travels through the air, its kinetic energy is transformed
into heat by friction with the air, and eventually heat of deformation as it strikes
and deforms a target. For the stage of string release while the potential energy
of the bow is being converted into kinetic energy of the arrow, you could use
conservation of energy to determine the speed of the arrow at each pointD
For another example, when a roller coaster has been pulled by a cable up to
the top of the first ramp "using external energy#, and has been released, its
velocity can be predicted at any point, by determining the difference in height
of the coaster from the start point at the top of the first ramp, and calculating the
loss of potential energy, and assuming that all of that lost potential energy is
converted into kinetic energyD "This also assumes the start velocity was
negligible.# $f the height of the peak is "L#, and the height of the roller coaster
at some point is "h#, then the potential energy lost is .ust:
0 "lost# C m g Ah C m g "L > h#
And this must e'ual the kinetic energy gained "which is the total kinetic energy
if the start velocity at the top was effectively 8ero#. =etting these e'ual, we
have:
40"gained# C X m v
3

C m g "L > h# C 0"lost#
this implies v
3

C 3 g "L > h# "since the mass cancels#

or v C

3g(/h) "here v is actually speed#
The final velocity v is .ust the speed, since it doesnIt tell the direction at all
for the coasterD -otice also that since the mass canceled out on both sides, the
magnitude of velocity, v, does not depend upon massD "=o no matter how many
people are in the coaster seats, itIs going .ust as fast on each curve every time it
does a ride.#
%<G +ump to Table of (ontents
$f a super elastic ball is dropped from a tall window, it has potential energy due
to its height above the ground. As it falls to the earth, the potential energy is
transformed into kinetic energy as its speed increases due to acceleration
downward from the earthIs gravity. As it hits the ground, it is s'uee8ed "as
though it were a spring# and the kinetic energy is transformed back into
potential energy of the s'uee8ed ball, and as the ball bounces back up, its
potential energy is converted back into kinetic energy as the ball gains a
velocity upward.
$nterestingly enough, since a roller coaster is converting potential energy into
kinetic energy, the velocity of the coaster at any point, can be predicted by
determining the difference in height between the start point of the ride and the
height of the coaster at any other point "if the start velocity was negligible#. $f
the height of the peak is "L#, and the height of the roller coaster is "h#, then the
potential energy lost is .ust:
0 "lost# C m g Ah C m g "L > h#
And this must e'ual the kinetic energy gained "which is the total kinetic energy,
if the start velocity at the top was effectively 8ero#. =etting these e'ual, we
have:
40 C %@3 m v
3

C m g "L ) h#
or v
3

C 3 g "L ) h#

or v C

3 g (/h)
-otice that since the mass canceled out on both sides, the velocity does not
depend upon massD This type of calculation can be used in many cases to
determine velocity, such as a pendulum where the height that the pendulum is
raised before it is released can be used to predict the velocity of the pendulum at
the bottom of its swing.
%<H +ump to Table of (ontents
7."" 3hat is Po,er4
A ma.or source of confusion in the news media involves the difference
between po,er and ener-y. They are different "in almost exactly the same
way# as velocity and acceleration are different. ower is simply the rate of
change of energy per time or often e'uivalently the amount of work done per
time. =o energy is the amount of whatever it is that can be changed into heat
"using our first definition#, and power is how fast the energy is being used or
transformedD The news media often uses the word power when they actually
mean energy, so be careful when you are researching things for this class "and
others#.
5ets start by looking at the formulas so we can use them for calculations.
ower is defined to be:
ower C
3ork done
t
C
3
t
or alternatively
ower C
+nergy transformed
t
C
+
t
-ow since both work and energy have the same units, the units for power is
the same in either case. Lowever, there are many different units used for
power, so we should start by getting the metric one:
1nits of ower C
units of energy
units of time
C
^
s
%<J +ump to Table of (ontents
C
(kgm
3
)
(s
3
)
s
C
(kgm
3
)
(s
7
)
he last set of units is so complex, that the second line for units of power, ^@s
has been accepted as the standard unit for power, and to make it yet more
convenient, the unit 3 (which stands for 3att) has been 2ust defined as a 2oule
per second% NoteC a minor point of confusion arises when 3 is used in a
formula to e.ual !work", but when doing units (when plugging values into a
formula), 3 = ^@s. Iou 2ust have to notice which you are doing. $orry for the
confusion, but it is 2ust how these things are done.
Mou .ust need to remember that for units of power:
1nits of ower C
units of energy
units of time
C
^
s
C * (3atts)
now since a *att is really 'uite a small unit of power "for everyday use#, it is
more common to use the metric unit of a k* for kilowatt "or %??? *atts#.
The most common usage of this unit is in electrical energy rate measurements,
but it is also applicable to many other types of energy rate measurements.
9eminder > watts are a unit of power, or how fast the energy is being used,
-6T the total amount of energy actually used.
8xa.ple 7." $f you have an electric motor that is lifting an elevator, and it was
working for %%? seconds in order to raise you in an elevator cage "with a
total mass of %7?? kg# a total of %E stories "<E m for this building# assuming
%??U efficiencyF
For this case we use the fact that the electric motor is increasing the potential
energy of you and the cage, and this defines the amount of power that is
re'uired to be:
%E? +ump to Table of (ontents
C
3
t
C
<
g
d
t
C
mg h
t
C
%7?? kg J.H m/ s
3
<Em
%%? s
C E3%%.H
kg m
3
/ s
3
s
C E.3 x %?
3
*
*hich would thus re'uire a motor of about E3? * power rating "or more if it
were less than %??U efficient#.
8xa.ple 7.! *hich electrical device will re'uire more energy in a day, a radio
using 3? * that is used for %? hours per day, or a toaster using %??? * that is
used for %? minutes per dayF
/oth of these calculations need a simple formula change. 9emember that
ower C
+nergy
time
, and so by multiplying both sides by time, and reversing
the sides of the e'uation we have 0 C ` t:
=o for the radio we have the energy used is:
0 C ` t
C 3? * ` %? hrs
C 3? "+@s# ` %? hrs "x
7&?? s
% hr
#
C G.3 x %?
E
+
%E% +ump to Table of (ontents
=o for the toaster we have the energy used is:
0 C ` t
C %??? * ` %? min
C %??? "+@s# ` %? min "x
&? s
%min
#
C &.? x %?
E
+
=o in this example the radio uses more energy in a day, because it was
played for a much longer time, than the toaster which used so much power that
it was glowing red hot, but was used for such a short period of time during the
day.
This example also can be used to illustrate a fairly new concept for energy
conservation today. To grab your attention, this is the concept that has been
called energy vampires, but more usefully in this textbook, this is called
standby power for devices. $n the good old days when you turned an
electrical device off, it was truly off, and took no energy at all, but now a large
"and growing# number of devices, when turned off, are still using some energyD
This is done for many reasons, such as communication "if your television or
cable box were totally off, say by being unplugged, then they would not
respond to the remote control, and know to wake up when you press the
appropriate button#. Another reason is convenience, since some electronic
devices need time to boot up, it is more convenient to leave them on but in
a reduced or standby state "like the sleep mode for a desktop computer or a
laptop# so that when you want to use them, you donIt have to wait a minute or
two for them to start up or boot up. 1nfortunately, even though this is a
really small amount of power for each device, but since it is being drawn
effectively A55 TL0 T$,0, this means that they are using a fairly large
amount of energy. $n our modern homes, all of these little bits of energy are
beginning to add up to between EU and %?U of the total residential electrical
energy used in most developed countries, and responsible for up to %U of all
carbon emissions, as estimated by the 5awrence /erkelely -ational
5aboratory.
%E3 +ump to Table of (ontents
7."! i.ple 5achines
*e deal every day with machines that do work for us "work in the
everyday meaning, not the physics meaning#. That means that we get
something done that we wish to get done, and that usually re'uires energy to do
so. ,any machines like cars, chainsaws, lawnmowers, leaf blowers, and so on
have engines that re'uire a source of energy "usually in the form of a
combustible fuel# in order to operate. There are a number of machines that
have been used for centuries that make our .obs easier to do, but do not re'uire
a source of energy in order to function. These are often called =imple
,achines and rely on basic physics principles to function.
They typically increase the amount of force that an individual can apply to a
task at hand, but donIt increase the output work "which they couldnIt do without
a fuel supply except by violating the 5aw of (onservation of 0nergy > which is
a /$2 -6)-6D#. The key point is that simple machines do not create or
increase energy, they .ust transform it "usually increasing the force applied in
the process#.
0fficiency C
3
out
3
in
or
)sable +nergy
out
otal +nergy
in

=o in the formula above, *F the efficiency were %??U, then you know that the
work in is e'ual to the work out "*
in
C *
out
#.
A useful value for any simple machine is called itIs mechanical advantage.
,echanical advantage ",A# is essentially by how big a factor the simple
machine increases the force. Thus the formula for mechanical advantage is .ust:

Through my years in physics, there has been no clear consensus on what is
classified as a simple machine. *ikipedia states "as of =ept. 3?%%# that they
are the lever, the wheel and axle, the pulley, the inclined plane, the wedge, and
the screw. $ have decided to consider the lever, inclined plane, pulley, and
wheel. The wedge and screw can be viewed as modifications of the inclined
plane.
%E7 +ump to Table of (ontents
-& =
<
out
<
in
i.ple &ever
5ets start off by looking at a simple lever. 6ften it is re'uired that you raise
some massive and heavy ob.ect off the ground, but you donIt have the strength
to .ust walk over and do so. This can be where a lever comes into play. For
example, if you are at the scene of an automobile accident, and the car is on top
of someoneIs leg and you need to raise the car slightly to pull the person out,
you might be able to use a lever. Mou could use a long pole "preferably of steel
or some strong material# and place itIs end under the car as shown in the
illustration "Fig. &.<# below.
%E< +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 7.# 1sing a lever to lift overturned car slightly. The top view
shows the lever acting on car "lifting it slightly#, while bottom
shows the forces and displacements with the similar triangles
cross)hatched in order to calculate the ,echanical Advantage.
Force in
Force out
9ock as Fulcrum
5ever
6verturned
(ar
Force
in
Force
out
5ever
Ax
out
Ax
in
$n order to calculate the mechanical advantage, you need to use the above
e'uation for efficiency. $f the efficiency is less than %??U, you will need to
modify the following, but the lever is often extremely close to the %??U value
and so:
0fficiency C
3
out
3
in
=
<
out
x
out
<
in
x
in
= %??U

which implies by rearranging and using ratios of sides of similar triangles:
where 5in is the length of the lever from where the input force is applied to the
fulcrum "pivot# point, and the 5out is the length of the lever from where the
output force is applied to the fulcrum "pivot# point.
*nclined Plane
The second type of simple machine that we are going to look at is the
inclined plane. This is also the principle behind the wedge or screw. For the
inclined plane, we need to use vector components and notice that the force we
must apply is parallel to the plane of the inclined plane. This is shown in Figure
&.E below:
%EE +ump to Table of (ontents
-& =
<
out
<
in
=
x
in
x
out
=
(
in
(
out
$n Figure &.E, the force along the ramp that the person supplying to the barrel
"Force
in
, to simply hold it in position# is much less than the force re'uired lift or
hold the barrel vertically which is the weight of the barrel or Forceout. The
amount that it is different is found by breaking the vertical gravitational force
on the barrel a component perpendicular to the slope surface, and a component
parallel to the slope surface. The perpendicular component of gravity is
opposed and canceled by the normal force upward at a slant from the slope
that prevents the barrel from gouging the slope itself. The parallel component
has nothing to resist it except the push by the person on the barrel "without
which it would rapidly accelerate down the slope or inclined plane. *hatever
the angle of the inclined plane "]#, the component of the inclined plane could be
determined by trigonometry as Fg sin] which from high school trigonometry is
simply Fg times opposite hypotenuse. Thus we can see that the
,echanical Advantage ",A# is given by:
%E& +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 7.6 Person p+shin- barrel +p inclined plane that is
inclined +p,ard at an an-le o1 P.
Force
in
Force
out
$nclined
lane
Ax
out
Ax
in
]
-& =
<
out
<
in
=
<
g
<
g
sin()
=
%
sin()
=
hypothenuse
opposite
=
x
in
x
out
Thus for a simple angle like 7?
o
, which is a &?
o
)7?
o
)J?
o
triangle, we know that
the hypotenuse is twice the opposite, so the ,A is exactly 3. $f the angle were
<E
o
, then the ratio of the hypotenuse to opposite for a <E
o
)<E
o
)J?
o
triangle is
3 to %, so the ,A C 3 C %.<%< "to < significant digits#D 9emember that the
,echanical Advantage is how the 1orce is multiplied, -6T the workD The
work in is going to be e'ual to the work out as long as there are no losses of
energy in the system.
/efore we leave the inclined plane as a simple machine, there are two other
types of simple machines that are .ust applications of the inclined plane. They
are the wedge and screw shown below in Figure &.&.
$n the case of a wedge, a force is applied to the end of the wedge "usually by
a hammer#. This is the input force. As the wedge is forced the wood, it applies
a much larger sideways force that is used to split or push apart the wood block
or log. The mechanical advantage ",A# is found .ust like the inclined plane
and relates to the angle of the wedge. The narrower wedge "smaller angle# will
have a greater ,A., but may re'ure reinserting the wedge deeper and deeper
before the wood block splits. *hile the thicker wedge "wider angle# will have a
smaller ,A, it will force the wood block apart faster and may not need to be
reinserted as often.
%EG +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 7.7 *edge and =crew as applications of $nclined lane.
F
out
"pulling
=crew into
wood#
3ed-e
*edge
*ood /lock
=plitting
/ig =ideways
Force "out#
Force from
Lammer "in#
F
in
by
screwdriver
cre,
For the case of a screw, we can also think of an inclined plane, although this
time the inclined plane is wrapped into a spiral around the screw. The input
force by the screwdriver at the end of the screw is a little more complicated
because it is delivered in the form of a tor'ue which is a variation of force
causing rotational motion discussed in (hapter H. $t is a relatively small force
though, that as it turns the screw, the long spiraling inclined plane produces a
really big force on the screw, pulling the screw the wood. /oth the wedge and
the screw are the same physics principle of the simple machine called the
inclined plane, although they are used for different purposes and some people
classify them separately.
P+lleys
A pulley can sometimes be viewed as a device that redirects forces with a
rope, string, chain, etc. $t is usually a wheel with a groove to position a rope or
chain to the wheel, and the wheel causes the tension force of the rope or chain
to be redirected. A single pulley alone may not be extremely useful, although
redirecting a force so that you are pulling down on a rope "with your weight
helping# instead of pulling up on a rope can be usefulD
The main gain with a pulley usually re'uires a system of pulleys in some
arrangement so that there is a significant mechanical advantage "increase in the
effective output force#. 1nfortunately, a pulley usually has some losses of
energy due to friction of the wheel, and moving the masses of the pulley
wheels. Although this may be taken into account for more advanced problems,
some pulleys are made with extremely low friction and lightweight plastic
wheels "although these can sometimes be pretty expensive and sometimes donIt
support a large mass#. $n some physics textbooks, we refer to these as
frictionless, massless pulleys, but we are going to simply think of these as
thought experiments with pulley systems using pulleys with negligible mass
and negligible friction. That means that unless explicitly stated, these pulleys
are %??U efficient, with the same amount of work out as the amount of work in.
For simple pulley systems, this is close to true, but for pulley systems with
many pulleys, you will usually have to take friction and energy losses into
account. =ince there is no friction, and no pulley mass to accelerate, the tension
in the rope or chain around the pulley will be exactly the same, but with a
%EH +ump to Table of (ontents
changed direction for the tension force. Three simple pulley systems are
shown in Figure &.G below:

$n the first system of Figure &.G, the person is redirecting the tension force T
so that the mass is pulled upward by the force T, while the person pulls down
with a tension force T on the rope. Thus the ,A C %.
$n the second system of Figure &.G, the person is now pulling up with a
tension force T, but the roof is also lifting up with a tenson force T, so there is
an upward force of 3T on the ,ass, so the ,A C 3. -ote that we donIt get a
free lunch from this "we donIt violate the law of conservation of energy#
because the person has to pull up twice the distance with force T in order for the
mass to pull up a distance with the force 3T, so the work in "by the person# is
still e'ual to the work out "raising the mass#.
$n the third system of Figure &.G, the person is using two pulleys "one type of
two pulley system# in order to gain a ,A C 3, and still be pulling down on the
ropeD $n this case, we see that there are two tensions pulling up on the pulley
attached to the mass, while the person is pulling down with only one tension
%EJ +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 7.9 Three simple pulley systems and their ideal ,echanical
Advantage ",A#.
T
T
,A C %
T
T
,A C 3
T
T
,A C 3
T
/ox
force T, so there is again a ,A of 3, but again at the cost of the person having
to pull down on the rope twice the distance that the mass is pulled upward.
,uch more complicated pulley systems can also be used to achieve a much
larger mechanical advantage. $n order to do this, it is common to put several
pulleys on the same axis. The pulleys are attached together, but are free to turn
relative to each other. $n such a case, it is usually the best approach to solving
the problem by examining the pulley that is attached to the mass being lifted.
Adding all of the tension forces upward on this pulley should e'ual the
downward force of the weight of the mass attached to this pulley and thus give
you the theoretical ,A of this pulley system as .ust Fg divided by the tension
force on the rope. Figure &.H below gives such an example. The left side shows
the pulleys edge on, and the right side shows an illustration where each loop
around a pulley represents a loop around a different pulley on the same axis "but
rotating freely from each other#:
%&? +ump to Table of (ontents
For Figure &.H we can see that the theoretical ,echanical is ,A C G, since there
are G rope segments pulling upward on the lower pulley "where the mass is
attached#. There are two rope segments for each pulley "all part of the same
rope, but two tension pulls upward#, and the tension pull from where the end of
the rope is attached to the lower pulley framework. The right side is a
somewhat styli8ed figure showing each loop of the rope around the axis
representing one pulley on the same axis, but rotating separately. *e do not
%&% +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 7.: A more complex pulley system with its theoretical
,echanical Advantage ",A C G#.
8d-e Vie,
ide Vie,
,A==
(eiling
(eiling
,A==
Axis
Axis
T
T
show it here, but it can be proven that for every centimeter downward that the
loose end of the rope is pulled, will rise the mass by %@G
th
of a centimeter. $n
actual fact, for a pulley system this complicated, it would actually re'uire you
to take friction account, as the actual mechanical advantage would not be
nearly as high as the theoretical mechanical advantage, depending on the
friction of each pulley as well as the masses of the pulleys themselves and the
mass of the rope.
The 3heel
Another device that is often referred to as a simple machine is the wheel.
Lowever, this has been a little harder for me to consider a simple machine, as
the typical use "wheels on a cart for example# does not really have a Fin and an
Fout. $n this form, the wheel is simply a way of reducing friction to a minimum,
so that work must be done to reduce the friction "which produces waste heat#
and increase transportation efficiency. The other way that a wheel is used is as
a rotating lever or a winch. This is shown in Figure &.J below:
%&3 +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 7.9 )roppin- a b+cket into a ,ell and dra,in- it +p
+ses a ,heel or cylinder (e11ectively as a rotatin- lever$.
9otating *heel
/ucket
3ater 3ell
Axle
*hen raising a water filled bucket on a water well, or an anchor on a ship, you
can use a wheel "also called a winch# to decrease the input force needed to
actually lift the heavy ob.ect. This can be seen by looking at a cross section of
the axle and wheel to be a form of a lever, but it is sometimes classified as a
simple machine. -ote that the input force by the hand on the wheel has to go a
much greater distance "with smaller force#, while the output force by the rope
goes a much smaller distance "but with greater force#. This is still a simple
machine, no matter what type it is classified as.
%&7 +ump to Table of (ontents
7."3 2oncl+sion on 8ner-y
*e have seen that using energy as a conceptN and that coupled with the law
of conservation of energy, the use of energy to solve physics problems is very
easy in many situations. There is still a tendency to keep separate the methods
of solving physics problems by using forces, velocity, and acceleration, from
the concept of solving physics problems using energy as 0, 40, and
conservation of energy.
A ma.or difference between the two methods lies in that forces, velocity, and
acceleration are all vectors, and re'uire vector mathematics in order to solve the
problems. 0nergy problems are typically not vector problems, but involve
scaler 'uantities. This means that depending on the situation, some physics
problems are easiest to solve using energy aspects, and some using forces, etc.
4nowing how to do both is important.
These two methods have actually been shown to be e'uivalent. The two
methods are connected by the mathematical definition of work, which is:
* C F
QQ
Z d C F Z d cos ]

1sing this e'uation, we see that problems involving forces and displacements
can be converted into work)energy problems. The first form of the e'uation is
called the dot product, and the mathematical operation works on two vectors
"with direction#, and results in a scaler "no direction#. $t is this connection that
can mathematically be used to show that energy solutions to most physics
problems and force solutions to most physics problems are e'uivalent, but .ust
different ways of looking at the physics problem. *hich you use to solve the
problem, .ust depends upon which method is easier to solveD Mour choice.
0xample needed > 9ail cart on level track. -o work, .ust
energy to make up for friction losses.
%&< +ump to Table of (ontents
2hapter 9. 3hat is 5o.ent+.4
9." )e1inition o1 5o.ent+.
6ne of the early developments in physics was the concept of momentum.
6b.ects that are in motion are often hard to stop, taking a lot of force to do so.
$t is clear that for identical ob.ects moving at different speeds, the ob.ect
moving faster is harder to stop. 5ikewise, for different ob.ect moving at the
same speed, the heaver "or more massive# ob.ect is harder to stop. Thus, when
these two 'uantities were multiplied, it gave a rough idea of the difficulty in
stopping an ob.ect, and thus we have the definition for momentum. ,omentum
is defined to be the mass of an ob.ect ti.es its velocity. The symbol for
momentum is P, and thus we have:
,omentum C mass _ velocity C P C m _ V
-ow the above definition needs to be studied a little bit. First, the symbol for
momentum is P. -ow the exact reason they used the symbol P is a not very
clear, but the main reason that the symbol , is not used for momentum, is that
it would always be confused with mass.
-ow along with the definition of momentum we need to define the units for
each 'uantity of momentum. $n one sense the units are easy, and in another
sense they are hard. =ince momentum is .ust the mass times velocity, then the
units of momentum must be the units of mass times the units of velocity or:
/nits o1 5o.ent+. I /nits o1 .ass R /nits o1 velocity
I (k-$ R (.Os$
I
(kgm)
( s)
%&E +ump to Table of (ontents
The easy part about these units is that you can easily remember them by .ust
multiplying the units of mass and velocity. The hard part is that, unlike the
units of force that someone finally decided to call a -ewton, there has never
been a separate unit definition for momentumN so we always need to write the
complicated "kg_m@s# every time that we need to put in the unit of momentumD
This means a lot of writing, but thatIs .ust the way it is for nowD
The next thing that we always need to remember about momentum is that
since it comes from multiplying the mass by the velocity of an ob.ect, and the
mass is a scaler but the velocity is a vector, the resulting 'uantity is a vector,
meaning that .o.ent+. is a vector C+antityB
%&& +ump to Table of (ontents
9.! )e1inition o1 *.p+lse
$mpulse and momentum are both closely linked to starting an ob.ect to
move, or causing it to come to rest. =o the definition of impulse is the change
of momentum of an ob.ect "usually occurring during an interaction between two
or more ob.ects#. This change usually takes place over a short period of time, "a
few milliseconds or so# like a ball hitting a bat, a hand hitting a set of boards in
a karate chop, or a car collisionN but can also take place over a much longer
period of time, like the acceleration of a car leaving a stop light, or the
acceleration upward of an elevator "that time that you feel extra heavy#. *e
often refer to the change of momentum as AP "pronounced delta #, and this
is defined to be the final momentum "P
final
# minus the initial momentum
"P
initial
#. $f an ob.ect starts with 8ero momentum then the impulse or change of
momentum will .ust be whatever the final momentum was.
<rom this definition of momentum, we can use a little algebra and find out
another useful definition of impulse.
=o if you didnIt want to follow the math above, you .ust need to understand that:
$mpulse C change of momentum C F At
This means that impulse is the change in momentum which is usually e'ual to
force times time, which is the "average# force applied to an ob.ect ti.es the
length)of)time)the)force)is)applied "At#. The direction of the impulse will be
the same direction as the applied force, and the impulse is still a vector 'uantity.
The formula can often be reversed, so that if the change of momentum is
%&G +ump to Table of (ontents
7mpulse = change of momentum
= (thisis :
final
:
initial
)
= "mB#
= m(B) "since m doesnIt usually change#
= m"a t# "since a C
B
t
then B C a t #
= m"a# t
= F t
known, and the time that the interaction takes place is known, then the average
force can be calculated.
-ow impulse, being the change of momentum, must have the same units as
momentum. That means that the units of impulse should also be the same as
the units of an average force multiplied by units of time. 5etIs check this outD
1nits of ,omentum are
(kgm)
( s)
1nits of $mpulse are units of Force times time
C - _ s C
(kgm)
(s
3
)
_ (s) C
(kgm)
( s)
Thus we see that the units for impulse and momentum are the same no matter how
we calculate themD
9.3 2onservation o1 5o.ent+.
-ow we come to what is one of the ma.or concepts of physics. This is the
concept of (onservation of ,omentum. This is our first example of a
number of (onservation laws that have been found in physics, and these laws
are extremely important in solving physics problems. As early scientists started
working with the concept of momentum, they began to reali8e that the total
'uantity of momentum added together from its parts never changed, as lon- as
there ,ere no external or o+tside 1orces on the parts. This means that there
is the same total momentum remaining in the system a1ter an interaction as
be1ore the interaction, "unless there are external forces on the ob.ects#. This
law of momentum conservation is extremely valuable in solving problems,
since all of the momentum parts "added as vectors# before the interaction must
e'ual all the momentum parts "added as vectors# after the collision "unless
external forces are occurring#. This principle can be used to solve many
problems in physics.
-ow we need to clearly define here what we mean by a system. A system
%&H +ump to Table of (ontents
is simply the collection of all of the ob.ects that make up our system. -ow
you have to be very careful here, because there are often overlooked ob.ects
that are being included to the system without thought to their affect on other
ob.ects. The earth is a commonly overlooked ob.ect, that you must make a
conscious decision if it is to be part of the system or not. Mou can maybe
think about a system as having a dotted line about it, and all parts within the
dotted line are part of the system and all parts outside the dotted line are not.
5ook at Figure G.% below:
-ow if only you are in the system then if your downward momentum is
increasing, conservation of momentum does not appear to be true. /ut
remember in this case there is an external force. That is the gravitational force
by the earth on you pulling you downD Thus you are gaining downward
momentum because of the external force by the earth on you, and the 5aw of
(onservation of ,omentum is not violated because there is an external force
on you.
$f you think about it for a minute, then you will remember from -ewtonIs
third law, that you are pulling upward on the earth with a gravitational force that
is e'ual to itIs downward force on you. That means that the earth will
accelerate upward "but negligibly due to the earthIs incredible mass#. -ow if
%&J +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 9." Mou have let go of a tree branch and are dropping to
the 2round. 6nly you are in the system.
Mou are Falling to
2round
we change our imaginary system above to include the earth, as shown in Figure
G.3 below "you and the earth are not to scale#:
-ow that you and the earth are both in the system, and temporarily
forgetting about any other pulls or pushes from the other planets or the =un, we
donIt see any other external forces on the system. -ow since the gravitational
force by the earth on you downward is exactly the same as the gravitational
force by you on the earth upward, and since it acts for the same amount of time
on both you and the earth, the impulses on you and the earth are e'ual and
oppositeD Thus, the momentum gain or impulse downward on you by the earth
is matched by the momentum gain or impulse upward by you on the earth, and
at all times the total momentum is staying exactly the same, since momentum is
a vector 'uantity and the up and down amounts of momentum add up to 8eroD
$f you think about it, since from -ewtonIs third law states that e'ual and
opposite forces always occur, if you draw your system line big enough to
include all of the ob.ects affecting the ob.ects of interest, then the total
momentum will always be conservedD $f the system includes the entire
%G? +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 9.! Mou have let go of a tree branch and are dropping to the
2round. -ow you and the earth are in the system "-ot to scaleD#.
Mou are Falling
to 2round
0arth
falling up
due to your
pull.
universe, then by definition, the total momentum in the universe will be
conservedD The entire 5aw of (onservation of ,omentum is a simple
conse'uence of -ewtonIs third lawD
9.# 2ollisions( both 8lastic and *nelastic
A ma.or application of conservation of momentum and momentum changes
is the aspect of a collision, when two "or more# moving ob.ects make contact,
and the velocities and conse'uently the momenta "plural of momentum# of each
changes. 1sually these collisions take place during short periods of time, and
we donIt have to follow the moment)by)moment changes of momenta, but .ust
look at the initial momentum of each of the ob.ects and the final momentum of
each of the ob.ects. $f some information is missing, we can often use the the
the total momentum of the two "or more# ob.ects remains the same before the
collision and the collision, unless external forces are applied.
6f ma.or concern is whether or not the collision is elastic or inelastic.
-ow take a look at two carts that are approaching each other on a track with
negligible friction. There are two extreme possibilities as shown in Figure G.7
below:
%G% +ump to Table of (ontents
The top part of figure G.7 shows that when the balls bounce apart, it is
called an elastic collision, while the bottom part of the figure shows that if the
balls stick together, it is called an inelastic collision. The more accurate
definition in physics is that for elastic collisions( the total kinetic ener-y is
conserved, while for inelastic collisions( so.e or all o1 the kinetic ener-y is
lost (+s+ally to heat$ and often the ob.ects are deformed "changed in shape# by
the collision.
$n cases where all of the forces present are conservative "absolutely no
friction#, collisions are often perfectly elastic or perfectly inelastic. For
example, when two planets or two suns interact in astronomy, they usually donIt
crash into each other, and while the gravitational forces attracting each of them
cause them to interact, this interaction will not lose the total kinetic energy in
the system "although it may be transferred from one to another#. $f the two
%G3 +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re 9.3 $f two e'ual mass, e'ual speed "opposite velocity# balls are
aimed at each other, then the two extreme types of collisions are
elastic "or bouncy# shown at the top, or inelastic "or sticky# as shown
at the bottom.
B
%
B
3
%e1ore
B
%
B
3
A1ter
8lastic 2ollision (bo+nced$
B
%
B
3
%e1ore
B
%
C B
3
C ?
A1ter
*nelastic 2ollision (st+ck to-ether$
planets or suns actually coalesce and merge into one, then the collision is
perfectly inelastic "usually heating up the new planet or sun that has .ust
formed#. 5ikewise when subatomic particles come into collision with each
other, they will typically change each others direction of travel "7! inelastic
collision# or merge and form a new particle "inelastic collision#. =ince much of
physics deals with the macroscopic "like astronomy# and microscopic
"subatomic physics#, these concepts are in great use for these fields.
For everyday collisions, like a man bouncing on a trampoline, or a tennis ball
hitting a racket, or a baseball hitting a bat, or two cars having a collision
accident, virtually all collisions are neither perfectly elastic or perfectly
inelasticD There is virtually an entire field of physics devoted to the study of
collisions, as it is of tremendous importance in accident insurance claims and
forensic studies. *e will not go to great depth concerning the in)between cases,
but if about H?U of the initial 40 is conserved during a collision, usually it is
treated as close to an elastic collision. Please note that .o.ent+. is
conserved ,hether or not A8 is conserved( so that it does not .atter i1 the
collision is elastic( inelastic or so.e,here in bet,een( .o.ent+. is al,ays
conserved i1 there are no external 1orcesB
$n more advanced work, the coefficient of restitution "(69# of two ob.ect
that are colliding gives the elasticity of the collision. The (69 is defined to
be the difference in speeds of the ob.ects involved in the collision divided by
the difference in speeds of the ob.ects before the collision. $f the (69 is % then
the difference in speeds before the collision is e'ual to the difference in speeds
after the collision, and the collision is regarded as perfectly elastic. $f the (69
is ? then the difference in speed after the collision is 8ero "they are stuck
together or not moving relative to one an other# and the collision is regarded as
perfectly inelastic.
9.6 /sin- ?2onservation o1 5o.ent+.@ 1or proble. solvin-.
*e can use the law of conservation of momentum to solve a large number of
problems. $n many cases we will align the collision to take effect in a straight
line, and only look at one component of momentum. /y ignoring the other
components, which often include external forces, we will find some problems
%G7 +ump to Table of (ontents
easy to solve for.
0xample %

8TPA<)
9.7 2enter o1 5ass
*e have treated ob.ects like they were all point particles in most of the work
so far. Fortunately, there is a reason for that. 0ven if an ob.ect is extended
"not all at one point in space#, and not perfectly symmetric like a sphere or cube
"such as a car or an airplane#, we can still look at its response to forces and
impulses because there is a special point called the center o1 .ass "abbreviated
25# that, in most ways, the ob.ect acts as though all of its mass is concentrated
at this center of massD =ometimes the center of mass is not actually located
within the ob.ect itself. For example, either a boomerang or a donut has its
center of mass located outside of the ob.ect itself. For a nice symmetrical ob.ect
"like a ball or a cube# the center of mass is located at the exact center of the
ob.ect, and is easy to find.
*hile there is a mathematical way of calculating the center of mass that we
will look at later, the most common way "on earth but not in space# is to use the
center o1 -ravity "abbreviated 2;# of an ob.ect, and call that the center of
mass. This is because if the gravitational field is uniform "and across a
laboratory or even a ball field it is al.ost uniform# then the center of mass and
the center of gravity are exactly the same point in the ob.ectD Mou can find the
of gravity very practically by simply finding the point that the ob.ect will
%G< +ump to Table of (ontents
balance on@or hang from. The (2 must go through a vertical line including this
point. 9otate the ob.ect and find a second vertical line, and the (2 must be the
intersection of these two lines.
This can be illustrated by taking an irregular shaped piece of paper, and
using a pin to hold it to the wall "or whiteboard#. $f the pin is not right above
the (2 of the paper, the paper will rotate on the pin "pulled downward by
gravity# until the (2 is right below the pin. $f you repeat this for two or more
points on the piece of paper, and draw a vertical line from the pin at each point,
the intersection of all of these lines will be where the (2 actually is, and this is
where the center of mass is alsoD This is shown in Figure G.<:


Fi-+re 9.# *hen finding the center)of)gravity for an irregular shaped
piece of paper "say in the form of an irregular triangle#, you can first
suspend it against a vertical board "like the whiteboard# using a pin so
that it can freely rotate. Then from the pin with a dangling pendulum
and a pencil you can draw a vertical line on the triangle. The (2 must
be on this line. $f you then move the pin to another location on the
triangle and repeat this, then the two lines drawn should cross at the
center of gravity of the triangle. $f you repeat this a third time, the
new vertical line should also go through the center of gravity, and the
intersection of the lines should be the center)of)gravity, "or center)of)
mass# of the irregularly shaped paper.

%GE +ump to Table of (ontents
in
!angling
endulum
$rregular
Triangle
(enter of
2ravity
Bertical
5ine
he mathematical method of calculating the center of mass is to use the
following formulas to calculate its location based upon some reference pointC
Y
cm
=

-
i
x
i

-
i
=

-
i
x
i
-
I
cm
=

-
i
y
i

-
i
=

-
i
y
i
-
_
cm
=

-
i
z
i

-
i
=

-
i
z
i
-
<or each of these formulas the ` symbol stands for the summation sign for all
elements (indicated by an i in the formula), where -
i
is the mass of each
element i , and x
i
is the x position of the element i. hus - is the same as ` -
i ,

since - is the total mass, which is found by summing up (or adding) all of the
masses of each element i for the system.
Now practically speaking, for any irregularly shaped ob2ect, you are going
to need a computer to add up all of these elements, but we can do so for some
simple ob2ects composed of two elements. <or example, look at the dumbbell
below in the <igure E.FC
%G& +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re 9.6 For the si.ple barbell above( the position o1 the center o1
.ass is in the exact .iddle o1 the barbell.
X
1
(= X
o
) X
C M
X
2
o calculate the center of mass, first assume that the masses at the ends are
identical values that we will call -, and that the bar's mass is negligible. 3e
can calculate the position of the center of mass in the Y direction using the
formula where the position Y is the position with respect to the left mass (or the
distance from Y
o
) and we getC
or the position of the Y
cm
is one half of the distance x
4
from the left mass.
7nterestingly, if we chose the right mass as our Y
o
or reference point we would
get (using the value of 9x
4
for the position of the left mass since it is in the
negative direction from the right mass reference point)C
which means that the location of Y
cm
is one half of the distance x
4
from the right
mass, which is exactly the same location that we found using the left mass as
the reference point!
7f we assume from symmetry that the center of mass vertically (I) and into the
page (_) is also the center of the total mass, we do not need to do these
calculations, and we have thus (with some simplifying assumptions) calculated
the location of the center of mass for a barbell.
(et's do another example with some actual number in it. (ater in 0hapter
?5 we are going to look at planetary orbits and make the assumption that the
planets move in an orbit around the $un. he $un is so much more massive
than the planets that this is a very good assumption. 7n actual fact, the planets
and the $un actually orbit around the 0- of the entire $olar $ystem. o
calculate where the 0- of the $olar $ystem is, replace the left mass of the
barbell figure above with the $un, and the right mass with ^upiter. ;y far, the
%GG +ump to Table of (ontents
Y
cm
=

-
i
x
i

-
i
=
-
%
x
%
+-
3
x
3
-
%
+-
3
=
-?+-x
3
-+-
=
-x
3
3,
=
%
3
x
3
Y
cm
=

-
i
x
i

-
i
=
-
%
x
%
+-
3
x
3
-
%
+-
3
=
-x
3
+-?
-+-
=
-x
3
3,
=
%
3
x
3
most massive planet in the $olar $ystem is ^upiter, and so it contributes most of
the change of the location of the 0- of the $olar $ystem from being at the exact
center of the $un. Now the mass of the $un is ?.DD x ?5
=5
kg, while the mass of
^upiter is ?.D5 x ?5
4E
kg, and the distance between the $un and ^upiter (the
radius of ^upiter's orbit) is E.EG x ?5
G
km. hus using the center of the $un as
the reference point (like the mass before), we get the followingC
hus the 0- of the $olar $ystem is actually not at the center of the $un, but
over E55 thousand km from it. /owever, since the radius of the $un is A.DA x
?5
F
km, the exact center of mass of the $olar $ystem is still within the surface of
the $un, and the $un !wobbles" about this true 0- once every time that
^upiter goes around it (or a ^ovan Iear) which is about ?4 +arth years% his
tiny !wobble" of the $un that is barely detectable in a telescope from far away,
is how many of the planets around nearby stars have been discovered.
Note for the calculation above, that if we had chosen ^upiter's location as the
reference point (like using the right mass in the barbell calculation) then we
would have found a distance 2ust slightly less than E.EG x ?5
G
km to the left of
^upiter, which would have put the 0- at the same location (within the $un's
surface), but would have taxed the number of digits on your calculator%
$ometimes you can't 2ust rely on a calculator.

%GH +ump to Table of (ontents
Y
cm
=

-
i
x
i

-
i
=
-
$
x
$
+-
^
x
^
-
$
+-
^
= G.<3 x %?
E
km
=
%.JJ x %?
7?
kg? m + %.J? x %?
3G
kg G.GH x%?
H
km
%.JJ x%?
7?
kg + %.J? x%?
3G
kg
2hapter :. 3hat is 'otational 5otion4
'otatin- obLectsD =tudents have suggested honograph record rotating,
,icrowave tray rotating, (eiling fan rotating, and (! rotating.
:." 2han-in- )irectionsB
6ften in physics, we work with linear motion "motion along a straight line#
because it offers the most basic study of the concepts at hand, and because it is
easyD 1nfortunately, with motion, we usually have to eventually change
directions, so as not to crash into somethingD This isnIt actually unfortunate,
because a large number of physics concepts deal with rotational .otion "when
an ob.ect is spinning or changing its orientation with time#, or circ+lar .otion
"when an ob.ect is following a circular path#.
,any of these ideas can be addressed by watching the motions of
frictionless ob.ects on surfaces. *hile being truly frictionless is rarely possible
in a high school laboratory setting, cases with negligible friction can be created.
6ne method is to use an air)table, such as ones used in air)hockey games. *ith
this table there are tiny holes in the table that air is blown up through, so that a
disk on the table is supported by an air cushion and actually floats slightly
above the table. Another method is to have a small hover disk, or a toy with a
motor that blows air downward and lifts the disk on a cushion of air. 1nless the
surface is extremely level, the hover disk will tend to drift in the downhill
direction, even though it looks level to the naked eye. $ use the hover disks in
my experiments a lot because they are relatively inexpensive.
*hen $ do a laboratory activity with these devices, if it is moving in one
direction "say northward#, $ often ask which direction would you have to give it
a push to change the direction of motion to make it move in the westward
directionF $f the student thinks that a sudden push westward will do it, then
they usually are surprised that the resulting motion is in the northwest direction
"the angle depends on the amount or magnitude of the push#. The reason for
this is that the hover disk keeps its northward motion because no part of the
push or force opposed the motion in that direction, but then added a westward
component of motion. The result of the two components is motion in the
northwest directionD =ince the resulting motion still has the northward
%GJ +ump to Table of (ontents
component of velocity, the new velocity will have a velocity magnitude bigger
than the original velocity motion.
$n order to get the hover disk moving westward with a single push, you
usually have to give it a push in the southwest direction, so that the southward
component of the push halts the northward component of the hover diskIs
velocity, while the westward component of the push starts the hover disk
moving in the westward direction. This is seen in the following Figure where
the left hand side represents a westward force only, while the right hand side
represents a combined westward and southward force on the same original
northward velocity, showing that a right angle turn re'uires that part of the
applied force cancel the original velocity, and part of the applied force gets the
ob.ect moving in the desired direction.
%H? +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re :." 2han-in- directions (ri-ht an-le t+rn$. The le1t botto.
part sho,s the ,est,ard 1orce applied( and the le1t top part sho,s
the res+ltin- ne, velocity. The ri-ht botto. part sho,s the
co.bined ,est,ard and so+th,ard 1orce bein- applied( and the
ri-ht top part sho,s the res+ltin- ,est,ard velocityB
6riginal
Belocity
Force
3estward <orce #nly
=
<
* 0
6riginal
Belocity
Belocity
(omponent
added by Force
Total <e,
Velocity
6riginal Belocity
(anceled by
=outhward Force
<e, Total
Velocity
0ombined 3estward and
$outhward <orce
6riginal
Belocity
*estward Force
=outhward
Force
:.! 2irc+lar 5otion
$n order for an ob.ect, with negligible friction, to move in a circleN there must
be a constant force on the ob.ect, to constantly be changing its direction. $f at
any time there is no force on the ob.ect, then it will proceed to move in a
straight line. For example, if a race car is racing around a circular track at a
constant speed, then the friction of the road on the tires provides the force to
change direction constantly. $f this friction were to suddenly cease, "say if
someone had spilled oil over the road so the tires started slipping#, then the race
car stops going in a circle, but continues with its velocity in a straight line until
stopped by something like the guard railD Another example of this is when a
ball attached to a string is being whirled around a personIs head in a circular
path. $f the string breaks, then the ball continues to move in a straight line that
is tangent to the circle. "=ince the ball moves on its straight line path, and keeps
moving away from the person at the center, it appears to that person that the ball
is receding directly away from the person, but a look at the figure below
shows that this is not what is happening. *hile the ball is moving away from
the person at the center, it follows a line tangent to the circle that it was moving
on before the force stopped, and while the distance from the center does
continue to increase, it is not moving directly away from the center, but moving
on a line tangent to the original circle.
%H% +ump to Table of (ontents
:.3 2entripetal Forces
There are many examples of circular motion, and in every case there must be
a force on an ob.ect "or .ust part of an ob.ect# that keeps changing the direction
of the velocity, and is directed toward the center of the circle of motion. This
force is given the general name of centripetal force to describe it as a force
that produces circular motion. This term comes from the 5atin words centrum
"OcenterO# and petere "Oto go towardsO#. -ote that this term describes what the
force does, and not the nature of the force.
$f you are whirling a tin can around your head attached to a string, then the
tension force of the string on the can is the centripetal force causing the can to
move in a circle about your head. For the previous example of a race car going
%H3 +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re :.! (ircular motion re'uires a force that is always pointed
toward the center "of the circular motion#.
Belocity
Force
(enter
*ith center Force
Belocity
"straight)line#
motion
-o
Force
*ithout center Force
(enter
around a circular track, there is a frictional force "sideways to the direction of
motion# caused by turning the tires in the chosen direction. This frictional force
is a centripetal force because it keeps the race car moving in a circle. As we
will see in a later chapter, for a planet or spacecraft moving around the =un in a
circular orbit, the centripetal force on the planet or spacecraft is the gravitational
force by the =un on the planet or spacecraft. Thus any force that causes an
ob.ect "or part of an ob.ect# to move in a circle is called a centripetal force,
which describes what the force does, but not the nature of the force itselfD -ow
it is important now to know what the formula for the centripetal force actually
is. That does not tell you the nature of the force "gravitational, tension, normal
force, etc.#, but tells you how much force is re'uired. First we need to know
what the centripetal acceleration is for an ob.ect moving in a circle with a linear
speed "velocity magnitude# of v. The centripetal acceleration is given by the
formula:
a
c
=
v
3
r
with the direction always radial toward the center of the circle
-ow since force is .ust the mass times the acceleration, we have the centripetal
force as being:
f
c
=
m v
3
r
with the direction always radial toward the center of the circle
Now let's look at how these formulas come about, and learn some other
definitions as we go about it. <irst in order to determine the rotational speed,
we can see from <igure G.= thatC
%H7 +ump to Table of (ontents
<rom <igure G.= we can see that the arc length l can be found using the formula
l = r P, as long as the angle P is measured in radians. his is very useful in
determining a value of linear velocity (or speed) in terms of the change in P in a
given amount of time. his will show the relationship between angular velocity
and linear velocity by the followingC
v =
l
t
=
Pr
t
=
P
t
r = r 1.uation 4+6
where the new term a (lower case *reek omega 9 N# letter w) is the symbol
for the angular speed% Now we see the relationship between linear speed v and
angular speed a is 2ust found by dividing v by r to get a%
%H< +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re :.3 The arc length l is determined by the angle ] and the
radius r.
l
r

Now as you can see from <igure G.=, in order to find the instantaneous
acceleration at the point A on the rightmost part of the circle, we will look at
the change in the velocity per time. his can be seen as the limit of the
following e.uationC
%HE +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re :.3 For a chan-e in the rotation an-le 0P( ,e can sho,
-raphically the 0v correspondin- to the 0P. 0v I Qv
"
Q sin a + Qv
!
Q
sin a
$nset showing Av by subtracting v
%
from v
3
Aa
r
Aa
v
%
v
2
5et Aa C X A]
A]
Aa
Aa
v
2
- v
1
v = v
2
- v
1
Aa
Aa
oint
his means that by rearranging, and defining the angular velocity as \P@\t we
now getC
1.uation 4+<
Now from <igure G.=, if we are going to determine the acceleration at point
A in the figure, we will look at an angle \P around point A and then let \P
shrink toward zero to find the change in velocity over the change in time which
will give the instantaneous acceleration (which we expect to be directed to the
or toward the of the circular motion)C
W
t
=
W
3
W
%
t
W
t
=
v
3
sin + v
%
sin
t
which is directed toward the left (or toward the center of the circular path as
expected), since the vertical components cancel out, and the two horizontal
components are both the magnitude of the velocity (the linear speed) times the
sin of the angle \b where the vertical bars mean the magnitude of the vector
between them.
W
t
=
vsin
(
%
3

)
+ vsin
(
%
3

)
t
since \b = X \c, and the magnitude of the each of the velocity vectors is the
same (constant rotational velocity), and so this givesC
W
t
=
3vsin
(
%
3

)
t
%H& +ump to Table of (ontents

t
=
v
r
=
now to find the instantaneous acceleration at the point on the rightmost point
of Figure H.7, we must let the angle A] shrink down toward 8ero, and take the
limit of AB@At, which re'uires one other mathematical simplification. $f we
take the limit of any angle, as that angle goes to 8ero, then
] [ sin ] for small angles P where P is measured in radians
now this approximation is better and better for smaller and smaller angles P,
so in the limit as the angle goes to zero, this becomes sin P = P% hus using
this approximation, and as you let as you let \W and \t both shrink to zeroC
1.uation 4+/
Now that we have calculated the centripetal acceleration we can calculate the
centripetal force by 2ust multiplying this by the mass of the ob2ect m%
1.uation 4+:
5ater when we discuss artificial gravity we will introduce the concept of
centrifugal force, which is not actually a force at all, but the impression that a
person in a rotating coordinate system has, that a force must exist. This is often
called a pseudo)force because it is not actually a force at all. For now, .ust
focus on the idea of a centripetal force being the force, whatever its nature, that
causes an ob.ect to move along a circular pathD
:.# 'otation vers+s 'evol+tion (An-+lar 5otion$
First we need to discussion one aspect of rotational motion. That is rotation
versus revolution "the moving in a circle kind, and not the political kind#. /oth
%HG +ump to Table of (ontents
a
c
= lim
t ?
W
t
= lim
t ?
3v
(
%
3

)
t
= v

t
=
vv
r
=
v
3
r
f
c
= ma
c
=
m v
3
r
involve circular motion, and often in everyday 0nglish are used almost the same
way, but they have one different aspect of motion. *hen an ob.ect is rotating,
itIs axis of rotation is within the body "usually at the center#. *hen an ob.ect is
revolving, itIs axis of revolution is usually outside of "external to# the ob.ect as
seen below.
-ow many ob.ects can have both kinds of motion at the same time. For
example the earth is revolving around the =un during a % year period, "because
the center of the rotational motion is the =un which is not within the earth
proper#. At the same time, the earth is rotating on its own axis during a 3< hour
period called a day since the axis that it is rotating about, passes through the
center of the earth on a line between the north pole and the south pole.
-ow something to try to remember, "and sometimes it is very hard to do so#
is that all circular motion is around a spin axis, and not .ust a point on the sheet
of paper that is illustrating the motion. =ince our drawings are often two
dimensional "since we have to use 3! paper to draw on# it is easy to forget that
the spin axis is a straight line that extends out of the paper and into the paper
%HH +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re :.3 'otation o1 a -reen obLect (,ith the center ,ithin the
obLect$ vers+s 'evol+tion o1 a bl+e obLect (,ith the center o+tside
o1 the obLect$.
(enter
'otation
(enter
'evol+tion
6b.ect
ath of
6b.ect
forever. $n purely rotational motion, all parts of a rigid ob.ect move in circles
that are all have one point of the spin axis as the center of their motion. -ote
that while all parts have a center at one point along the spin axis, any other part
of the rotating ob.ect "if not moving in the same plane# will have a center at
some other point along the spin axis.
/efore getting into the nitty)gritty of rotational e'uations, we need to clarify
that there are two kinds of speed here. 6ne speed is called rotational speed.
This is measured as the angle the orientation changes by "about the spin axis#
divided by the time it takes to do so. The most common units for this is
rotations per second or revolutions per second. $f the time interval isnIt
seconds, then you .ust have to do a units conversion as we have done before.
9otational speed tells you how fast it is spinning "or revolving# about the axis,
but does not tell you the direction of the spin axis. +ust as before, it is a scaler,
having magnitude, but not direction. "This can get a little fu88y, since many
ob.ects have a defined spin axis, and thus ,ith the direction of the spin axis,
you would have the rotational velocity.#
The second speed is the old fashioned linear speed, which is .ust the distance
traveled divided by the time it takes to do so. -ormally when you are dealing
with a physics problem and you say speed, it is assumed that you are talking
about linear speed ".ust the velocity of the ob.ect without direction#N but if you
are dealing with rotational motion you .+st be specific ,hich you meanD
These two types of speed are illustrated by a ball on a string being whirled
about a personIs head. There is a top view shown below:
%HJ +ump to Table of (ontents
-ow from the arrow arcs, it is easy to see that if you attach a second ball at
a shorter distance "the inner arc# you will thus be whirling the balls at the sa.e
rotational speed "they travel the same fraction of a full circle in the same
amount of time#. Lowever, during the same time period, the outer ball travels
on a path that is greater than the inner ball, and thus since average linear speed
is the distance traveled divided by the time, the outer ball has a -reater linear
speed than the inner ballD =ince the path traveled is proportional to the radius
"the total distance around the circle is .ust 3 W r# then if the ball is twice as far
from the center, it will travel twice the distance of the inner ball "in the same
time# and thus will have twice the linear speed. 5ikewise, if the rotational
speed increases, the linear speed increases also, because the ball will travel the
same distance in a shorter amount of time. =ince linear speed is .ust d@t we can
see for a rotating or revolving ob.ect that:
linear speed C
d
t
=
3!r Y rotations
t
= 3!r
rotations
sec
From the e'uation you can see that the linear speed is linearly proportional to
%J? +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re :.# Top view of two different balls attached to a string being
whirled about a personIs head, showing rotational speed versus
linear speed.
ersonIs
head
/all %
whirling
about head
=ame rotational speed:
!ifferent linear speed
/all 3
both the radial distance r of the ob.ect from the spin axis, and the rotational
speed in rev@sec or rot@secD Thus if you doubled the radial distance r of the
ob.ect from the spin axis, and tripled the rotational speed, you would have six
times the linear speed for the ob.ect.
Now at this point 7 would like to make a distinction that is very important to
physicists and many engineers, but probably not very often to the general
public. 3e are going to now discuss rotational motion in a bit more precise
nature using many terms such as angular speed and angular acceleration.
hese differ from rotational speed and rotational acceleration by the factor of
4d. &ngular speed is the angle that the ob2ect rotates (or revolves) divided by
the amount of time that it takes to do that rotation. his is the a defined in
e.uation G.4. ;y tradition, and because it makes all of the formulas much
easier to work with, the angles are measured in radians! hus, one full
rotation (or revolution) is going to be exactly 4d radians (that is A.4G=?GF......)%
&nother difficult concept for beginning students is that angular
measurement are technically dimensionless, since angle measurements
are always length divided by length (such as a radian which is the
ration of the arc length divided by the radius of the circular
measurement). Zegrees are similar, so even though most of the time it
is not necessary with radians to write !radians", it is usually a good
idea for a beginning student.
Now that we have established the basics of rotational motion, we
need to set up some of the formulas and basic definitions. ^ust like we
use x to determine the position in a one9dimensional case for linear
motion, we will use the angle B to determine the rotational !location"
or rotational position. hus the change of B during a period of time
constitutes rotational motion. 3e will use the *reek symbol lower
case omega C for rotational velocity (please note this is not the
standard letter w, but is more rounded). his can be calculated using
either the average formC
%J% +ump to Table of (ontents
average rotational velocity =
avg
=

t
1.uation 4+;
he instantaneous rotational velocity is an abstract mathematical concept
similar to instantaneous velocity. his abstract mathematical concept is based
upon the concept of a limit. 7t is actually defined as the limit of AB over At, as
At approaches zeroC
instantaneous rotational velocity = = lim
t ?

t
1.uation 4+0
or an easier way of thinking of instantaneous rotational velocity is that it is the
rotational speed at that instant, so that if it were constant, would be the angle
that the ob2ect would rotate through in one second.
7t should be mentioned that C as a rotational velocity has a direction since it
is a vector (having both magnitude and direction along the spin axis). his
uses an example of the so9called !right hand rule" where you can visualize the
rotational velocity direction by using your right hand and curling the fingers in
the direction of rotation with the outstretched thumb along the spin axis. he
rotational velocity direction points along the spin axis in the direction of the
outstretched thumb. his is rather technical, and we will not use it often in this
text, as the vector rotational velocity is much more useful in advanced physics
classes. Normally we will 2ust use the rotational speed a as our measure of
rotational motion, but sometimes we will have the direction of rotation (or
angular acceleration) reverse, with a negative implying the opposite direction.
3e will thus use negative and positive to incorporate the vector nature of C
(and later angular acceleration D$, 2ust like we did with linear one9dimensional
motion.
Now the next concept that we will need is angular acceleration. 7n the next
section, you will see what causes angular acceleration, but for now we are
defining what it is. 7n a similar manner to standard linear acceleration,
angular acceleration is defined to be the change of rotational velocity C
during a period of time.

average angular acceleration = "
avg
=

t
1.uation 4+3
%J3 +ump to Table of (ontents
he instantaneous angular acceleration is again an abstract mathematical
concept similar to instantaneous velocity, based upon the concept of a limit. 7t
is actually defined as the limit of A C over A t as A t approaches zeroC

instantaneous angular acceleration = " = lim
t ?

t
8C+ation :.:
or an easier way of thinking of instantaneous angular acceleration is that it is
the angular acceleration at that instant, such that if it were constant, would be
the change in angular velocity that would occur for an ob2ect during one
second. he vector nature is handled by plus and minus like the linear one9
dimensional case for this text.
%J7 +ump to Table of (ontents
:.6 Arti1icial ;ravity
5ater we are going to have a (hapter on *hat is 2ravity where we will
find out what the force of gravity is, "or at least how it works#. For now, the
thing that you should understand is that as far as we know, there is no way to
create gravity unless we have a really h+-e amount of mass present. The
mass needed is on the order of a planet like the 0arth, so practically speaking, it
is impossible to create gravity with our present knowledge of physics. $f we
use a planet)like mass to create the gravity, then it is real gravity, and not
artificially createdD
Met, in all of those science fiction movies like =tar *ars and =tar Trek, they
are always somehow having artificial gravity while flying around through
=pace. This is probably .ust because it is considerably cheaper to shoot a movie
that doesnIt have to fake people and ob.ects floating around in the frame.
Lowever, if we eventually do get space travel for extended periods of time,
"many months or years# it may well be necessary to find some way of
producing artificial gravity to prevent peopleIs muscles from growing weak due
to lack of everyday exercise, or their bones from losing calcium "which is also a
problem for extended visits to =pace#, and other non)desirable effects of free)
fall, which $ much prefer to the less accurate weightlessness.
6ne way of producing an effect similar to gravitational acceleration is using
the centripetal acceleration of a rotating ship or ob.ect. This is used on earth
very often to centrifuge chemical solutions to separate components. $n this
case the artificial gravitational acceleration is many times that of the earthIs
gravitational acceleration. $n order to understand how this might work, lets
look at a =pace =tation designed like a giant bicycle tire "technically a torus#.
9ight now all space stations that humans have made, including the $nternational
=pace =tation, do not spin, and therefore have no artificial gravity. $n the
%JE?Is, !r. *erner Ban /raun did much early theoretical work in the concepts
of early practical space flight, and designed a tubular "remember this is called a
torus# donut)shaped space station, that was shaped like a giant bicycle tire to
spin for artificial gravity in space. To illustrate how this would work, we can
look at Figure H.E below:
%J< +ump to Table of (ontents
There are two things that you should notice about this figure. The first is
that up for each of the four people shown is toward the spin axis of the torus.
This spin axis is an imaginary line coming out of the paper and going into the
paper that the torus "like a bicycle tire# is spinning about. $t is -6T .ust a point
at the center of the torus, but a line "perpendicular to the paper drawing# that
everything is spinning about.
The second is that since each person in the figure is spinning around the spin
axis of the torus, they all ,1=T be accelerating since they are not moving in a
straight line, but in a curved path. =ince their speed is not changing, but the
direction is changing, the acceleration is always perpendicular to the direction
that they are moving, which in this case is toward the center of the circular path
that they are traveling, "which is the spin axis shown#. -ow if you were inside
this =pace =tation, standing against the outer wall, you would feel like there
%JE +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re :.6 Biew of people standing upright in a giant bicycle tire or
torus shaped =pace =tation. -otice that up to each of them, is above
their heads and toward the =pin Axis.
=pin
!irection
=pin
Axis
was a gravitational force pulling you outward away from the spin axis, but there
actually is no force pulling you away from the spin axis, but only the force by
the floor on your feet pushing you toward the spin axis "and forcing you to
move in a circle around the spin axis#.
=o what would happen if you dropped a ballF 5et us look at a person who
happens to be holding a ball in his hand, shown in Figure H.& below:
*hen the person releases or drops the ball, it continues to move in a
straight line in exactly the direction it was moving the moment it was released.
Lowever, the person is being forced into a circular path by the centripetal force
on his feet by the =pace =tation, so when the ball again makes contact with the
%J& +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re :.7 Biew of how even though a dropped ball actually has straight
motion, when there is no centripetal force from the wall of the =pace
=tation changing its direction, it still ends up at the personIs foot, .ust as
though he or she had dropped it on the 0arth.
=pin
!irection
=pin
Axis
/allIs !irection of ,otion
/all dropped
=tation floor, it is now at the personIs feet, .ust like it would be if the person
dropped it on the 0arth. *hile $ have drawn this as though the person were
down at the bottom of the =pace =tation, it works .ust the same at any
position around the station because the ballIs direction of motion would be at
the same angle as the ballIs initial direction of motion.
To get a better feeling of how this artificial gravity would feel, lets think
about two people standing on a floor on the 0arth "like your classroom#. Are
they actually feeling the force of gravity on their bodyF $f the floor werenIt
there "like they .umped down a huge hole# they actually wouldnIt feel any force
on them except the wind of passing airD They are now in free fall and feel no
forces on them as they accelerate downward, because each atom of their body is
being pulled e'ually. This is the exhilarating feeling that some people love
about skydiving, before the parachute is pulled. They wonIt feel any force until
they hit the bottom, and then it will be a huge "and possibly damaging# force
re'uired to stop them. *hen you say that you feel the force of gravity on
you, you are usually referring to the force pushing up on you that prevents you
from falling. $f you have been standing for a really long time, then your feet
are going to hurt because of the large force upward from the ground that has
been holding you up for a really long time.
$n the case of the rotating =pace =tation, you would feel the effect of the
centripetal force by the wall@floor of the station pushing on you and forcing you
to move in a circular path. This force is always directed toward the spin axis.
This is why up in such a =pace =tation is always toward the spin axis,
because the force "by the wall@floor# is always accelerating you toward the spin
axis. Thus in the case of artificial gravity produced by a rotating torus or
cylinder you are in fact always accelerating "even though your speed stays
constant# because you are changing direction at all times, like a car going
around a curve at too high a speedD -ow the amount of artificial gravity that
you feel is thus the same as the centripetal acceleration that you are
experiencing, and is the same as the e'uation H.7, which is:
%JG +ump to Table of (ontents
a
c
=
v
3
r
0xample H.% =uppose you are in a toroidal =pace =tation that is %?? m in
radius, and rotates at 3.?? revolutions per minute. *hat would the artificial
gravity be for someone standing at the outer edge of the station on the inside of
the tubeF
=olution: The total circumference "d# of the stations is:
d = 3!r = 3 !%??m = &3H.7 m
The speed v is:
v =
d
t
=
&3H m
?.Emin. x
&? s
%min
= 3?.J<
m
s
Thus:
a
c
=
v
3
r
=
(
3?.J<
m
s
)
3
%?? m
= <.7J
m
s
3

"back to the original 7 significant figures#
=ince % g C J.H m@s, this means that the acceleration in gIs is:
=o a person would only feel an artificial gravity of slightly less than half a
g or slightly less than half of the normal gravity that they would experience
on the 0arthIs surface. The two things that you should note from this formula is
that if the space station is rotating at the same rotational rate, then the closer
%JH +ump to Table of (ontents
a
c
= <.7J
m
s
3
x
% g
J.Hm/ s
3
= ?.<<H g ' s
you get to the spin axis, the less artificial gravity you feel. $t is shown in the
mathematical section, but it turns out to be linear with radius, meaning if you
were halfway between the spin axis and the outer rim, you would experience
half the artificial gravity. $f you were a 'uarter of the distance between the spin
axis and the outer rim, you would experience a 'uarter of the artificial gravity.
,ost important, if you were at the spin axis you would experience 8ero
artificial gravity, so a hub located on the spin axis would have no artificial
gravity for experiments and the fun of 8ero gravity gamesD
3e can rewrite the e.uation for centripital acceleration using e.uation G.?
that the linear veloctiy v is e.ual to the angular velocity a times the radial
distance rC
hus our new version for the centripetal acceleration isC
his version of the centripetal acceleration shows two important
relationships. he first is that as mentioned above, for a constant rotational
rate for the space station, the centripetal acceleration or artificial gravity is
linearly proportional to the rotational radius (distance from the spin axis).
his means that there will be zero artificial gravity at the spin axis since the
radius r there is zero. he second is that the centripetal acceleration or
artificial gravity is proportional to the s.uare of the angular speed C. hus if
you are at the same radial distance r, and the rotational rate of the space
station were doubled, you would experience : times the artificial gravity%
%JJ +ump to Table of (ontents
v = r
a
c
=
v
3
r
=
(r )
3
r
=
3
r
:.7 TorC+e( 'otational *nertia( and res+ltin- An-+lar Acceleration
-ow since average rotational motion is defined as the change of an angle
"using either radians or full rotations# divided by an amount of time, we now
need to examine how this rotational motion can be changed. $n order for the
rotational motion to be changed "in a similar manner to linear motion#, there
will have to be a force "or forces# applied and an acceleration result. Lowever,
this is not exactly the same as linear motion, and can sometimes be a little
confusing. $ will start by looking at a rectangular block of wood on a slippery
flat hori8ontal surface. /y slippery, $ mean that there is very little friction
between the block of wood, and the tabletop. $n my classroom, this can be
achieved by putting a s'uare wooden frame on a battery powered hoverdisk
that floats on a cushion of air. $f you supply a 'uick hori8ontal tap or shove
onto the wooden frame, you can get the following responses "shown in Figure
H.E# below:
3?? +ump to Table of (ontents
Thus, a net force on the ob.ect that points directly through the center of
mass will produce a net acceleration in a linear direction, but will not produce
rotation. For (ase /, there is a net force that produces a linear acceleration,
but in addition, the force that is -6T aimed through the center is causing a
rotation of the ob.ect, or what we will call either angular acceleration or
rotational acceleration. For (ase (, since the net force on the ob.ect by both the
shove, and the constraint force of the axle on the ob.ect is 8ero, the linear
acceleration is 8ero and it remains with 8ero linear motion, /1T the off)center
3?% +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re :.6 $n (ase A above, a sharp centered shove results in linear motion
straight ahead. $n (ase / above, a sharp but off)center shove results in
the center of mass of the ob.ect taking off "often at an angle as shown# but
with a superimposed rotational motionD $n (ase ( above, if the center of
the ob.ect is fixed on an axle "so it is free to rotate# then when a sharp off)
center shove occurs, a resulting force by the fixed axle prevents the linear
motion, but permits the ob.ect to start rotatingD
5inear
,otion
=harp (entered
=hove
=harp 6ff)(enter
=hove
=harp 6ff)(enter
=hove with fixed
axle
5inear
,otion
combined
with rotation
9otation onlyD
Force by
fixed axle
on ob.ect
(ase A (ase /
(ase (
shove produces a rotation, while the constraint force of the axle on the ob.ect
produces no rotation since it is aimed right through the center)of)mass "or the
spin axis#D
The ability of a force to cause a change in the rotation of an ob.ect will be
called torC+e. $t clearly is not .ust the force alone, but how it is applied that
gives the tor'ue. reviously in the Figure H.E examples, $ used the center of
mass as the spin axis. Tor'ue is actually always evaluated with relation to the
spin axis, and not the center of mass, but the center of mass is often "not
always# on the spin axis for rotation. For example, a wheel that is balanced will
have its center of mass on the spin axis. Lowever, if the wheel is lopsided, as it
is spinning it will often vibrate "or thump# at the rotational fre'uency as it
needs a force to keep the center of mass moving around the spin axis instead of
being on it. $n a washing machine on spin cycle, if the clothes are distributed so
that the center of mass of the clothes is on the spin axis of the machine, it
rotates smoothly, but if some of the heavy clothes end up on one side of the
machine, it starts to go thump, thump, thump. etc. This will continue until you
either stop the machine and redistribute the load, or until enough water "which
is usually more massive than the clothes# has left them through the holes in the
side of the inner tub that even though the center of mass is still not on the spin
axis, it has moved much closer since the clothes without water are much less
massive than the spinning tub "which does have its (, on the spin axis#.
The tor'ue due to a particular force is defined mathematically to be the
component of that force that is perpendicular to the spin axis of the ob.ect,
times the distance from where the force is applied to the spin axisD This can be
defined mathematically as:
tor'ue C b C F
.
r
.
sin ] 1.uation 4+5
C F
.
l "where

l is the lever arm defined below#
C F x r "This is the cross product of two vectors.#
where in each form, the applied force is F, the displacement from the spin axis
to where the force is applied is r and the angle between the force vector and the
displacement vector r is P. The symbol for tor'ue is the 2reek U, and the units
3?3 +ump to Table of (ontents
are surprisingly force times distance or the same units as energyD he cross
product shown is mathematically the same as the previous formula, but a little
more advanced and explicit of the both the fact that tor.ue is actually a vector
and the direction of that vector.
-ote: The fact that energy has the same units as tor'ue seems to be a
coincidence rather than some fundamental physics relationship, so it is most
common to define the units of tor'ue as newton)meters "-m#, and to keep the
unit .oule "+# for energy alone. 7t is also important to remember that tor.ue is
actually a vector and not a scaler, while energy is a scaler .uantity% (Iou might
wonder what the direction of the tor.ue vector isM 7t is in the direction
perpendicular to both the force vector % and the displacement vector r. his is
an example of the so9called !right hand rule" where you can visualize it by
using your right hand and curling the fingers in the direction that the applied
force is trying to rotate the ob2ect, and the outstretched thumb will be in the
direction of the tor.ue. his will usually be in the direction of the spin axis. $t
is very common to include the vector nature of tor'ue at this level of physics as
.ust the direction clock,ise about the spin axis, or co+nterclock,ise about the
spin axis. This is the e'uivalent to using T or > for the direction of a velocity
vector, that we used in the early stages of linear velocities. The three
dimensional aspects of tor'ue will be left for a more advanced course in
physics.
5ets look at the concept of the commonly used term lever arm for a
tor'ue. The lever arm is found by extending a line along the force vector until
it comes closest to the spin axis. At the point it is closest to the spin axis, the
distance between that point and the spin axis is called the lever ar. for the
tor'ue produced by that force. The magnitude of the tor'ue b is then .ust the
magnitude of the force times the magnitude of this lever arm. "This means,
using the e'uation above that the lever arm length is .ust r sin ].# $n other
words, if the force is directed directly toward "or away from# the spin axis, then
the lever arm is 8ero, and the tor'ue is also 8ero. The force may push the ob.ect
creating linear motion, but no rotational motion will be produced ".ust as in
Figure H.E above#.
The concept of the lever arm is shown below in Figure H.& below:
3?7 +ump to Table of (ontents
3?< +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re :.7 Three cases showing the lever arm length for a tor'ue
calculation, with a force F applied at the end of the bar. The tor'ue b
is .ust the magnitude of the force times the length of the lever arm. $t
is obvious from this, that case A where the force is perpendicular to
the vector r will supply the largest lever arm "most tor'ue#, while for
case ( where the force is closer to being aligned with the vector r will
produce the shortest lever arm "lease tor'ue#. $f the force were aimed
directly at the spin axis, then the lever arm would have 8ero length,
and the tor'ue would be 8eroD
5ever Arm
5
e
v
e
r
A
r
m
5
e
v
e
r

A
r
m
A
(
/
-ow that we have determined the method of deriving the tor'ue, we have
determined what can cause or change rotational motion. Lowever, the same
amount of tor'ue will produce different rotational velocities depending upon
the rotational inertia or resistance to being set into rotation of the ob.ect.
5ike many of the other concepts, this rotational inertia is different from the
inertia of linear motion, and so the rotational inertia has a special name
moment of inertia which used the symbol * "or we may often stick to
rotational inertia which $ think is more descriptive#. For linear motion, the
inertia is .ust defined to be the mass of the ob.ect in kilograms. For rotational
motion, however, there is a complication that the rotational inertia depends
not only on the .ass( b+t on the distrib+tion o1 the .ass abo+t the spin
axis. This means that if you change the spin axis "say instead of rotating a
pencil about its middle point, you rotated it about one end# you change the
rotational inertia of that pencil.
The moment of inertia "$# is defined to be:
$ C c m r
3
1.uation 4+60
This is really easy to calculate for an ob.ect made up of one or two significant
masses "like a barbell#, since it is the s+. of each chunk of mass in the ob.ect
times its distance from the spin axis s'uaredD /ut it is a little harder to
calculated for a so)called extended ob.ect "like a rod, hoop, sphere, cube, etc#.
$n fact, for most of these ob.ects it would re'uire (alculus in order to perform
the calculation. =ince this is not a (alculus based class, $ will simply give you
the moment of inertia for a set of uniform density ob.ects with a defined spin
axis, but if you had to actually calculate these it would be a relatively simple
calculation using integration from (alculus. Mou could also get a B09M good
approximation by dividing the ob.ect into ,A-M small pieces and using a
computer to sum up the total values of the mass times the distance from the spin
axis s'uared. 9emember that the rotational inertia depends upon where you
place the axis that you are spinning the ob.ect about as well as the total mass ,
of the ob.ect. The following page shows Table H.% which give the formula for
calculating the moment of inertia $ for a set of common ob.ects.
3?E +ump to Table of (ontents
0xample > 1sing Table H.%, if we wished to calculate the moment of inertia of a
solid disk with a radius of %? cm, and a total mass of %.3 kg, we would use the
e'uation:
' =
%
3
-r
3
=
%
3
%.3 kg(?.%m)
3
= &.? x%?
7
kgm
3
3?& +ump to Table of (ontents
Table :." =howing ",oment of inertia > $# for various =hapes with
total mass ,, and =pin Axes "dashed lines#
=mall ball "or point
ob.ect# whirling on a
string of radius r.

' = - r
3
Thin rod of length 5,
with spin axis in center of
rod.
' =
%
%3
- (
3
Thin rod of length 5,
with spin axis at end of
rod.
' =
%
7
- (
3
Loop or hollow cylinder
of radius r and length 5
"since 5 is parallel to spin
axis, it doesnIt affect $#.

' = - r
3
!isk or solid cylinder or
radius r and length 5
"=ince 5 is parallel to
spin axis, it doesnIt affect
$#.

' =
%
3
- r
3
=olid =phere of radius r
with the spin axis
through the center.

' =
3
E
- r
3
A!! ,690
3?G +ump to Table of (ontents
r
5
5
5
r
5
r
r

Now that we have a good definition of both tor.ue (e) and rotational inertia
(moment of inertia 9 7), we can do an actual calculation of the angular
acceleration (f). his text is going to stick with the idea of only using constant
(or non9changing) angular acceleration. his is because it makes the
e.uations easier. Zealing with accelerations that are changing (either linear
acceleration or angular acceleration) usually re.uires 0alculus for the solution
to such problems. &s long as the acceleration is constant, we can use the
formulaC
" =
#$
7
=
$
net
7
1.uation 4+66
3here the EF is the sum of all tor.ues on the ob2ect (about the same spin
axis). his is exactly the same as F
net
, so the second part of the e.uation is
exactly the same. $ince some may be clockwise, and some counter9clockwise,
the sum will have to be either clockwise or counter9clockwise as defined by
either using that term or calling clockwise (U) and counter9clockwise (9). he
bottom term is 2ust the rotational inertia (moment of inertia L 7). ^ust like
linear acceleration can be negative while the velocity is positive (speed will be
slowing down), angular acceleration can be negative while the angular velocity
is positive which will mean that the rotational speed will be slowing down%
*ive +xample problem here
:.9 An-+lar 5o.ent+. and 'otational 8ner-y
/efore we can make a listing of all of the rotational e'uations, there are two
more concepts that must be defined. The first is called An-+lar 5o.ent+.,
and this is one of those conserved 'uantities that are so very useful in physicsD
The total Angular momentum of a rotating ob.ect is defined as the rotational
velocity times the moment of inertia. /efore $ write this down as an e'uation, $
must let you know a really confusing fact. The symbol for angular momentum
3?H +ump to Table of (ontents
is "5#D $ have no idea what the actual reason for using this symbol is, but this is
one of those things that you simply have to memori8eD $ will permit you to
grumble as you do soD This makes the definition of angular momentum the
following:
angular momentum = (
= rotational velocityrotational inertia
= 7 8C+ation :."!
6ne of the most powerful concepts that we have from this is based on
conservation of angular momentum. (onservation of angular momentum
means that if there are no external tor'ues "tor'ues created by outside forces#
then angular momentum will be conserved, or stay the sameD -ow you will
remember from (hapter G that conservation of linear momentum is a very
powerful tool for solving problems. -ot only is conservation of angular
momentum also a very powerful tool for solving problems, /1T in addition it
explains many other things you see by reali8ing that the rotational inertia "$#,
unlike the regular inertia defined by mass "m#, can change by rearranging the
positions of the mass in the rotating ob.ectD The standard example of this is a
figure skater on ice. =ince the ice is essentially frictionless when the figure
skater is on his or her toes, it supplies virtually no tor'ue on the figure skater.
This means that the figure skaterIs angular momentum will be conservedD
*hile spinning, if the figure skater pulls his or her arms in close to the spin axis
"either close to their body or over their head essentially on the spin axis#, he or
she will reduce their moment of inertia, and since angular momentum 5 ,1=T
remain constant, as the rotational inertia decreases, the rotational velocity must
increaseD
ThatIs how figure skaters increase their spin rate to spin so very fast. Mou
can even figure it out, if they decrease their rotational inertia "$# by a factor of 3,
then they must increase their spin rate "angular velocity or d# by a factor of
two "since % x % C X x 3#. Mou might think that they would have a problem
reducing their rotational inertia by a factor of 3 using only their hands, arms,
and legs, but remember that $ C c mr
3
, and the r
3
term, increases the effect by a
lotD For example, their body is already centered on the spin axis, so it has a
3?J +ump to Table of (ontents
small average radial distance. Their arms, however, if outstretched have a large
radial distance of perhaps %? times the average radial distance of their body, so
they have %?? times the moment of inertia per kilogramD 0ven with the small
mass of arms and hands, this can change the total moment of inertia by a large
amountD 9emember, they also use their legs as well.
This is also the reason that most people instinctively stretch their arms out
from their sides when they walk along a balance beam. =tretching their arms
out increases their moment of inertia, which thus decreases their angular
acceleration for the same tor'ue due to the force of gravity. This increases the
amount of time they have to rebalance their body, helping them avoid a rotation
around the balance beam "which is a fall by any definition#.
-ow think of any ob.ect rotating. $f you were to mentally break it down into
many parts, then each part would be moving with linear motion perpendicular
to the spin axis, and thus each part would have some small amount of kinetic
energy. Therefore, we can say that any rotating "or revolving# ob.ect has some
'otational Ainetic 8ner-yD *hile this is exactly the same kind of energy as
an ob.ect moving with linear velocity, this energy is due to the fact that the
ob.ect is rotating or revolving about a spin axis. *e give this a different name
to show what kind of motion produces the energy, not because the energy is
somehow differentD
*e wonIt do a direct derivation of the formula for any shaped ob.ect, but lets
look at a simple case of a small ball attached to a string or negligible mass rod
revolving about a spin axis "as shown in Figure H.G below#. $f the rod has
negligible mass, then virtually all of the rotational kinetic energy is due to the
mass at the end of the rod.
3%? +ump to Table of (ontents

-ow for the simple revolving mass above, we can calculate the total kinetic
energy by summing up the linear kinetic energy of the mass. The linear
velocity of the mass is given by:
linear velocity C v C d r
the kinetic energy of the mass is simply:
40
mass
C X m v
3
C X m "d r#
3
C X m d
3
r
3

C X m r
3
d
3

C X $ d
3
, since the moment of inertia $ is c m r
3

from 0'uation H.%?
3%% +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re :.9 For a simple calculation of rotational kinetic
energy, by having a spherical mass . revolving around a
spin axis at a radius r, and with rotational velocity of V. *e
will use it to calculate the amount of rotational kinetic
energy associated with it.
r
d
m
-ow in general, since d remains constant for any rotating solid mass, and
the radius of rotation for any part of the ob.ect remains constant for the rotating
solid mass, the total rotational kinetic energy is .ust:
40
rotational
C
%
3
7
3
0'uation H.%7
:.: 'otational 8C+ations ,ith si.ilarity to &inear 8C+ations
Now that we have learned what tor.ue and rotational inertia are, and how
they can be calculated, we can make a list of all of the rotational e.uations. 7t
is extremely interesting to see that there is a direct analogy between each linear
motion e.uation and each rotational motion e.uation if you 2ust make the
substitution of x g P, v g a. & g f, m g 7, < g e % his will all be shown
by able G.4 on the following pageC
Table :.! ho,in- the relationship bet,een each o1 the linear .otion
C+antities and eC+ations( and their rotational .otion eC+ivalents.
&inear 5otion 'otational 5otion
5inear position ) x 9otational position ) ]
5inear velocity ) v 9otational velocity ) d
5inear acceleration > a 9otatinal acceleration ) e
$nertia C ,ass C m 9otational $nertia C $ C c m r
3
Force C F Tor'ue C b
Average velocity v C
x
t
Average rotational velocity d C

t
Average acceleration
a C
v
t
Average rotational acceleration
e C

t
3%3 +ump to Table of (ontents
5inear position ) x 9otational position ) ]
Average acceleration a C
#<
m
Average acceleration e C
#$
7
5inear ,omentum C C m v 9otational ,omentum C 5 C $ V
5inear kinetic energy C X m v
3
9otational kinetic energy C X $ d
3
v
f
= v
i
+ at
f
=
i
+ "t
x
f
= x
i
+ v
i
t +
%
3
at
3

f
=
i
+
i
t +
%
3
"t
3
v
f
3
= v
i
3
+ 3a x
f
3
=
i
3
+ 3"
3here the last three lines are our standard three e.uations of motion "for
constant acceleration$- 1.uations /260+
3%7 +ump to Table of (ontents
2hapter 9. 3hat are tability and tatics4
9." ;ravitational tability
=tability is very important in our everyday life. The physics of stability on
the earth is dominated by the fact that the 0arthIs gravitational field is always
pulling downward on ob.ects. As we know from (hapter <, if there is a net
force on any ob.ect, "be it a person, bicycle, automobile, house, tree, etc.# then
that ob.ect will accelerate, and due to gravity, likely it will be in the downward
directionD 1sually any ob.ect will be stable, neutral, or unstable. These terms
refer in physics to any very slight displacement of the ob.ect in a direction
producing forces that tend to pull it back into the original position "stable#, or
such a displacement producing no net force try to return it to the original
position "ne+tral#, or such displacement producing forces that continues and
accelerates the motion, causing the motion to increase steadily "until stopped by
some other ob.ect# which is the +nstable situation.
An example of this is a solid cone. $f the cone is set on its base, it is stable,
and it will take a fairly significant force to knock it over. $f a cone is set on its
side, it is in a neutral position, and if the surface it lies on is flat and hori8ontal,
a slight displacement will not cause its motion to either increase or decrease. $f
the cone is set on its point, than even if it is pointed straight up, any motion
sideways will increase until the cone falls over. This is illustrated in Figure J.%
below:
3%< +ump to Table of (ontents

This is the point where we can use the center of gravity concept developed in
section G.&. The concept that the center of gravity is exactly the same point in
the ob.ect as the center of mass, will be correct as long as the gravity field is the
same at every point in the ob.ect. <or everyday ob2ects this is essentially true
for any ob2ect that is extremely small relative to the size of the +arth% 3hile
technically since the top of the ob2ect is $(7*/(I further away from the
center of the +arth, the gravity field will be 2ust slightly smaller than that at the
bottom, but we are talking about am amount usually less than a thousandth of a
percent% his is effectively the same at all points in the ob2ect, and the
difference between the center of gravity and center of mass is negligible%
-ow letIs look at a rectangular cube shown in Figure J.3. $n this case, it is
easy to see that the center of gravity is in the exact center of the cube. $n order
to tip the cube over, or make it fall over, one edge of the cube must become the
pivot point for the rotation of the cube "this is the spin axis or rotation axis
seen from the end#. The cube must rotate around this spin axis, or it will .ust
slide along the surface that it is on. $f the push is to the right, then the right
lower edge will become the pivot point, and if the push is to the left, then the
left edge will become the pivot point.
3%E +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re 9." A cone lying on a plain when set upon its base is stable, and
when lying on its side is neutral, while placed on its point is unstable.
=table
-eutral
1nstable

This concept of the base)of)support can be used to understand many situations
of stability and how things become unstable and fall over. For example,
suppose you are leaning back in the chair as shown in Figure J.3 below:
3%& +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re 9." tability abo+t a Pivot Point (or Pivot 8d-e$
$n order for the block shown to tip over, a push from either side must
cause the block to rotate about a pivot point "or more accurately pivot
edge# on the other side of the block. $n order to do this, the center of
gravity "(2# will have to rise along the appropriate dotted line. =ince
that will take energy to lift the blockIs (2, the block sitting on the
ground will be stableD An alternate way of looking at it, is that the
tor'ue of the block around the pivot point "or edge# will tend to return
the block to itIs original position if it raises slightly, so again it is in a
stable position. Met another way of looking at it is that the blocks (2
is above its base)of)support area "defined by the edges that the
block could tip about# which in this case is the entire bottom of the
block.
ivot oint
(
2
ush
(2
ush
ivot oint
ush is to 9ight ush is to 5eft
As long as you are careful in leaning back in a chair to keep the center of
gravity for you and the chair over the base)of)support bounded by the back legs
of the chair and where your feet contact the floor, you will be in a stable
position and not fall over. Lowever, if you lean too far back, and the (2 is no
longer over the base)of)support, you will start to tip over backwards.
The base)of)support does not have to be a rectangle. For example, with a
three legged stool, the base)of)support would be an e'uilateral triangle defined
by the points where each leg of the stool makes contact with the floor. For the
example of a bicycle with a kick stand, the base)of)support would be a triangle
on the ground defined by the points where the kickstand is in contact with the
ground, and the points where the bottom of each tire make contact with the
ground.
Mou should note that it is a common misconception to think that having the
(enter of 2ravity very high in the ob.ect is a criteria for whether the ob.ect is
stable or not. That is not the caseD *hether or not the (2 is high or low is
3%G +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re 9.! A person leaning back in a chair will be stable as long as
the center of gravity for himself and the chair is above the area
defined by his base)of)support "bounded by the edge of the chair
back legs, and his own feet on the floor#. Le@she is right on the
edgeD
/ase)of)=upport
(enter of 2ravity
irrelevant to whether or not the ob.ect is stable. $t is stable as long as the (2 is
over the base)of)support, and unstable if the (2 is not over the base)of)supportD
This misconception is easy to understand however, if you see that the higher the
(2 is located "for the same base)of)support# the less energy re'uired to raise
the (2 using one edge of the base)of)support as a pivot point "thus re'uiring
less tor'ue#. $t is thus much easier to push an ob.ect over "move it to a point
where the (2 is no longer over the base)of)support# if the (2 is much higher
than if the (2 is very low, but the criteria of is the ob.ect stable or not is based
in physics solely on whether the (2 is over the base)of)support "which the area
outlined by the points or edges of contact of the ob.ect with the supporting
ground or supporting floor.
3%H +ump to Table of (ontents
9.! tability by constraint
$n addition to cases where an ob.ect is stable due to its center)of)mass "(,#
or center)of)gravity "(2# being over its base)of)support, an ob.ect can often be
stable by constraining its motion, and determining if a slight change in position
causes the (2 to rise "stable e'uilibrium#, stay the same "neutral e'uilibrium#,
or fall "unstable e'uilibrium#. This can be easily demonstrated by a marble in a
bowl, shown in Figure J.7 below:

=ince the marble must stay in contact with the surface of the bowl, if it
moves sideways in the stable e'uilibrium situation "standard bowl orientation#
its (2 is forced upward by the hill on either side, and it gains potential energy
which by the component of gravity that pulls it back down, causes it to fall back
toward the bottom of the bowl.
$n the neutral situation, displacement toward either side does not raise or
lower the (2 of the marble, so is has no force trying to stop it or push it back
3%J +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re 9.3 A marble in a bowl is in stable e'uilibrium, while a marble
on a hori8ontal plane is in neutral e'uilibrium, and a marble on an
inverted "upside down bowl# is unstable.
/owl
table
,arble
/owl
/nstable
,arble
Flat /owl
<e+tral
,arble
toward its original position. $f it starts to roll, no force will cause it to
accelerate to higher speeds, or to bring it to a stop either.
$n the unstable e'uilibrium situation, where the marble is on top of the
upside)down bowl, any displacement sideways lowers the (2, and the
conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy causes the marble to speed up
and increase its motion away from the original position on top of the bowl.
The distribution of mass can be very important in the placement of the (2
for some situations. There are many toys that appear to be unstable, but are
actually in stable e'uilibrium. 6n type is a toy clown or bird that appears to
balance on one point, but the (2 is actually below the point of balance "so any
sideways motion actually raises the (2, or a blow)up clown that you can push
over, but will always right itself since its (2 is so low that rolling along its
bottom actually raises the (2 as shown in Figure J.< below:
33? +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re 9.# Toys that are actually stable even though they appear to be
unstable. This is achieved by having the (2 actually well below the
main body of the toy.
(2
ath of (2,
if rocked
Tightrope
ath of (2,
if rocked
Tightrope /alance Toy
$nflated
=tays upright
(lown
5arge
,ass
This techni'ue can have more applications than .ust toy for children. The
=pace -eedle in =eattle from the %J&3 *orldIs Fair, appears to have a large
saucer shaped structure atop a lattice of steel, that looks to be very unstable. $n
fact, it is anchored to an huge underground concrete base that has a mass of well
over E??? metric tonnes "it took <&G concrete trucks to pour the concrete#. !ue
to this fact, the actual (2 is very low, and is approximately at ground level
"give or take a few meters#. *ikipedia states at this time that the (2 is about
%.E meters above ground level, but $ have also heard that it is below ground
level. 0ither way, the actual (2 is well below the apparent (2 "about half way
up the structure# and gives the structure a much more stable "or at least neutral#
e'uilibrium than you would think at first glance. There are a number of
buildings or structures in the world that similarly use the anchor of a large mass
below ground to give the building much greater stability than it would appear to
have at first glance.
33% +ump to Table of (ontents
9.3 tatics it+ations and Proble. olvin-
First we need to define what we mean by a static situation. $t is common to
think of an ob.ect being static if it is not moving, but as we saw when
defining motion, that while something may not be moving relative to the earth,
since the earth is moving relative to the sun, that something is always moving
relative to some reference ob.ect. Thus, we will redefine the word static in
this case to meaning that the ob.ect is not accelerating. $n this case there are
two conditions that must be satisfied:
%. The net force on the ob.ect must be 8eroD "c F C ? #
3. The net tor'ue on an ob.ect must be 8eroD "c b C ? #
The first condition, that the net force on the ob.ect must be 8ero, is re'uired
so that the ob.ect will have no acceleration in any direction. Thus, if it is not
moving in your reference frame, it will continue to have no translational
motion. This is most simple to see in something like a book lying on a table.
There are typically two forces on the book, both e'ual in magnitude, and both in
opposite directions. The first is the force of gravity "by the 0arth on the book#
downwards. The second is the normal force "by the table on the book# upwards,
which when added to the gravitational force adds up to t net force of 8ero. $f
either of these forces were greater than the other, the net force would not be
8ero, and the book would either accelerate up or down.
The second condition, that the net tor'ue on the ob.ect must be 8ero, is
re'uired so that the ob.ect will have no angular acceleration about any pivot
point. An interesting thing to note "used a lot in problem solving# is that you
can choose any point on the ob.ect as the pivot point, and the net tor'ues about
that point will always add to 8ero for a static situation with no angular
acceleration. This can be illustrated simply by a playground teeter)totter with
two e'ual mass boys at each end that is centered. $f you assume that the boys
have e'ual mass of say E? kg, and the teeter)totter board has negligible mass by
comparison. =uppose, to keep the problem simple, we chose to have each boy
sit exactly %.? m from the fulcrum, then we can calculate the net tor'ue about
three different positions, as shown in Figure J.E below:
333 +ump to Table of (ontents
5etIs see how this could workD +ust to keep the numbers easy, we will use the
approximation that g [ %? m@s
3
. Thus the force each boy applies to the teeter)
totter itself is: F C mg C E? kg x %? m@s
3
C E?? -, and since the teeter)totter is
not accelerating upward or downward, it must have an upward force of %??? -
to have a net force of 8ero if both boys have downward forces of E?? - each
from -ewtonIs second law. This upward force of %??? - is provided by the
center fulcrum pushing upward on the teeter)totter board. -ow that we have the
forces calculated, and remembering that the definition of a tor'ue is the applied
force times the lever arm, or:
b C F
applied
x 5ever Arm length
*e can now look at each case individually:
For the case o1 net torC+e abo+t point AD
The tor'ue due to the force at point A "b
A
#is 8ero since the lever arm is 8eroD
"The force goes through the turning point.#
The tor'ue due to the force at point ( is:
337 +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re 9.6 A teeter)totter with two boys of e'ual mass at each end, that
has a net force on it of 8ero, and a net tor'ue about any of the < points
"A, /, (, or !#, is 8eroD "where / is halfway between A and (.#
A ( / !
b
(
C %??? - x %.? m C %??? -)m "counter clockwise#
The tor'ue due to the force at point ! "since it is 3.? m from point A# is:
b
!
C E?? - x 3.? m C %??? -)m "clockwise#
Thus the net tor'ue C b
A
T b
(
T b
!
C 8ero, and there is no net tor'ue or angular
acceleration about point AD
For the case o1 net torC+e abo+t point %D
The tor'ue due to the force at point A is:
"since / is X of the distance from A to (#:
b
A
C E?? - x ?.E? m C 3E? -)m "counter clockwise#
The tor'ue due to the force at point ( is:
"since / is X of the distance from A to (#:
b
(
C %??? - x ?.E? m C E?? -)m "counter clockwise#
The tor'ue due to the force at point ! "since it is %.E m from point /# is:
b
!
C E?? - x %.E m C GE? -)m "clockwise#
Thus the net tor'ue C b
A
T b
(
T b
!
C )3E? -)m T )E?? -)m T GE? -)m C ? -)m
"using the convention that clockwise is positive, while counter clockwise is
negative#, and there is thus no net tor'ue or angular acceleration about point /D
For the case o1 net torC+e abo+t point 2D
The tor'ue due to the force at point ( "b
(
#is 8ero since the lever arm is 8eroD
"The force goes through the turning point.#
The tor'ue due to the force at point A is:
33< +ump to Table of (ontents
b
A
C E?? - x %.? m C %??? -)m "counter clockwise#
The tor'ue due to the force at point ! is:
b
!
C E?? - x %.? m C E?? -)m "clockwise#
Thus the net tor'ue C b
A
T b
(
T b
!
C 8ero, and there is no net tor'ue or angular
acceleration about point (D
=ince the case of net tor'ue about point ! is essentially the same as the case
of net tor'ue about point A, we can see that the net tor'ue about any of the <
points is always 8ero, and thus there is no angular acceleration, and thus the
teeter)totter with the two boys on it given in this example is in stable
e'uilibriumD This is an important point in problem solving for static
e'uilibrium problems. =ince the net tor'ue about any point is always 8ero for
these problems, it is a very common techni'ue to carefully choose a point for
calculating the net tor'ues to solve for unknown forcesD
33E +ump to Table of (ontents
5+: (tatics (ituations and Aroblem (olving "cont+$
(et's look at some examplesC
1xample 5+6: & sign is hanging from a beam that is attached to a wall, with a
cord having tension attached at an angle P = =G
o
to the beam as shown in the
<igure D.B belowC
<or <igure D.B show, if the sign masses 45.5 kg, and weight is e.ually placed on
the two chains holding the sign to the beam, while the beam's mass is negligible
to the problem, we need to know the vertical and horizontal forces by the wall
33& +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re 9.# =ign "m C 3?.? kg# hanging from a beam that is attached to
the wall.
*all
$amantha's $winging $ign
$hoppe
Tension "T#
(ord
F
y
F
x
P C 7H
o
R
3
C ?.HE m R
%
C ?.3H m
/eam
on the beam (to design a hinge capable of holding it in place). 3hen solving
this problem we have assigned the vertical force by the wall on the beam (<
y
) to
be upward, and the horizontal force by the wall on the beam (<
x
) to be to the
right. his doesn't matter to solving the problem, as if the vertical force is
downward when we solve the problem, the solution will 2ust come out with a
negative <
y
value.
$ince this is a static e.uilibrium problem we know that the sum of the
vertical forces on the beam must add up to zeroC
<
y
U sinP 9 h mg 9 h mg = 5 N e.. D.?
also, we know that the sum of the horizontal forces on the beam must add up to
zeroC
<
x
9 cosP = 5 N e.. D.4
but you can see that there are three unknowns so far, <
y
, <
x
, and . 3e need a
third e.uation in order to solve this problem, and we can get it by using the fact
that the tor.ues about any point must also add up to zero. 3hile we could use
any point to measure the tor.ues around, it is useful in this case to choose the
point where the beam meets the wall since the tor.ues of the two unknown
forces by the wall on the beam must be zero at that point. hus for that point,
the sum of the tor.ues areC
h mg (Y
?
) U h mg (Y
4
) 9 sinP (Y
?
U Y
4
) = 5N e.. D.=
Now we can easily see that every variable in e.. D.= is known except for , and
so we can use the values Y
?
= 5.4G m, Y
4
= 5.GF m, m = 45.5 kg, g = D.G m@s
4
,
and P = =G
o
to solve for , and you getC
= ?FD N
3e can use this value to solve for <
x
in e.. D.4, and <
y
in e.. D.? and we getC
<
x
= ?4F N, and <
y
= DG.5 N
33G +ump to Table of (ontents
3e now know the forces that must be handled by any type of brace holding the
beam to the wall.
1xample 5+6: & man is climbing a ladder that is resting at an angle of P = AF
o

with respect to the ground as shown in <igure D.F below. he feet of the ladder
have a rather large coefficient of static friction (H
s
= 5.AF) since the ground is
very rough and rocky, but the coefficient of static friction of the ladder against
the wall is negligible in this problem. 7f the man has a mass of m = ?=5 kg (he
should perhaps at least consider a diet), then we can regard the mass of the
ladder as insignificant in this case. 7f the ladder has a length ( = B.4 m, how
far up the ladder can the person walk (length Y) before the ladder starts to slip
and he fallsM
33H +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re 9.6 A man "mass C m# is walking up a ladder "dashed line# with
a length 5 C <.3 m, that is leaning against a wall with negligible
friction.
*all
5adder
R
5
F
fr
F
g
2round
F
n
F
nw
Now in order to solve this, we need to get a better !feel" of what is going
on. (et's look at the ladder as the ob2ect that all of the forces and tor.ues are
acting upon (the body in a <ree ;ody Ziagram). his problem is kept fairly
simple by letting the mass of the ladder be negligible, as well as the friction of
the wall negligible. hus, for the man to not to accelerate downward due to the
gravitational force downward, there must be an upward normal force by the
ladder on the man so that the total force on the man is zero. ;y Newton's third
law, that means that there must be a normal force downward on the ladder by
the man e.ual to the normal force upward by the ladder on the man, which is
(as we would expect) e.ual to the man's weight (mg).
<or the ladder not to accelerate downward, the normal force by the ground
upward on the ladder must be e.ual to the man's weight. 7n addition, for the
ladder not to accelerate horizontally, the frictional force by the ground on the
ladder must be e.ual and opposite to the normal force by the wall on the ladder.
7f both of these conditions are met, then the net force on the ladder will be zero
and it will be in static e.uilibrium.
Now we must examine the tor.ues on the ladder. <irst we need to choose the
pivot point. he easiest one to choose is the point where the ladder makes
contact with the ground, because since the lever arm's lengths are zero, there
will be no tor.ue contribution from the normal force or the frictional force by
the ground on the ladder. he only two forces contributing tor.ues are the
man's weight and the wall's normal force. &s the man walks up the ladder, the
tor.ue from his weight (counter9clockwise) will increase, since the weight
remains constant but the lever arm increases. 7n order to remain in
e.uilibrium, the clockwise tor.ue must increase also, but since the lever arm
remains constant (as long as the ladder doesn't move), the normal force by the
wall on the ladder must increase. his can continue only until the static friction
by the ground on the ladder is exceeded and the ladder starts to slide (kinetic
friction) and accelerate, while the ladder and man fall. hus, we have as our
criteria for stability thatC
but since the normal force by the ground on the ladder (<
n
) is 2ust the man's
weight (mg), and the frictional force by the ground on the ladder must e.ual the
33J +ump to Table of (ontents
<
fr

s
<
n
normal force by the wall (<
nw
), we can see thatC

$ince in the limiting case, we have <
nw
= H
s
mg, examine the e.uation for net
tor.ue on the ladder around the point where the ladder touches the groundC
3hich can only e.ual zero, if Y = H
s
(, which means since H
s
= 5.AF and ( =
B.4 m the man can only go up the ladder a distance of Y = 4.E m before it will
start to slip. Notice that this does not depend upon the man's mass, nor the
angle (P) of the ladder with the ground%
Now obviously this solution will not be correct if any of our initial
assumptions are inappropriate. 7f the ladder's mass is not negligible, you have
to include the gravitational force of the +arth on the ladder[ or if the angle (P)
of the ladder with the ground is so small that the frictional force by the wall on
the ladder is not negligible then you would have to include a term for the tor.ue
due to the wall's frictional force on the ladder, but those are other (and slightly
more complicated) problems.
37? +ump to Table of (ontents
<
nw

s
mg
#$ = mg(lever armof Y ) + (neg) <
nw
(lever armof ()
#$ = mg Y cos <
nw
( (cos )
#$ = mg Y cos
s
mg( (cos ) :from above
#$ = mg cos ( Y
s
()
2hapter "0. 3hat is ;ravity4
"0." ir *ssac <e,ton and ;ravity4
2ravity is something that has been pretty much known about since the
beginning of human communication. Lumans have pretty much reali8ed that
when you throw something into the air, that it will fall back to the earth again,
and also that when you throw something at an angle, itIs path will curve back
downward again. 2alileo reali8ed that to study this phenomena that you would
have to slow it down "since they did not have stop action photography and slow
motion cameras in the early %&??Is#. They really did not have very good timers
as attested to by the fact that 2alileo did his first timing of a pendulum using his
own heartbeatD 2alileo used balls rolling on inclined planes to slow down the
action, and found that gravity acted like a constant force upon an ob.ect,
causing a constant acceleration of such ob.ects in the downward direction.
The scientist who made the truly great advance on the
sub.ect of gravitation was =ir $ssac -ewtonD =o much
so, that his work is made memorable by calling it the
1niversal 5aw of 2ravitationD This law was called this
for two reasons, in my opinion. The first was that it
described mathematically how gravity operated "which
lets you make predictions that you can check out#. The
second was actually almost as important, because it
contributed to a true paradigm shift of his day. =ince
AristotleIs day, a ma.or tenet was that the lawIs of the
heavens were pure and perfect, and thus were viewed as
being different from the lawIs that controlled all motion
on the more imperfect earth. *hile many scientists and
philosophers were beginning to challenge this idea, and
the concept that the earth was, in fact, in motion about
the =un "as first advocated by (opernicus# was beginning
to be accepted as a tolerable viewpoint, it was not understood how the planets
could maintain motion about the =un. $t was even suggested that the planets
were attached to transparent spheres that rotated at certain harmonics about the
=un, "hence the phrase music of the spheres used from ythagoras to 4epler#.
-ewton codified his description of the effects of gravity in a way that stated
37% +ump to Table of (ontents
7llustration ?C *odfrey
Nneller's ?AGD portrait
of $ir 7saac Newton
(aged BA) (from
3ikipedia 0ommons)
that the effects of gravity were exactly the sa.e here on earth, as such effects
were in the heavensD This 1niversality of his law, uniting the laws of nature
both on earth, and in the heavens, contributed to the change in our concept of
the 1niverse greatlyD
"0.! ;ravity as a Force
$t has often been stated, shown, or indicated that -ewton discovered his
theory of gravitation after being konked in the head by a falling apple. *hile
this is highly unlikely to have happened, there is evidence that he was inspired
by watching the fall of an apple from a tree. 6ne of the sub.ects that he was
working on was trying to understand how the moon revolved around the earth.
$f the moon were not physically attached to any other ob.ect, then in order for it
to move in a circle, there must be a force on it changing its direction of travel
constantly, as discussed in (hapter H "and by the three laws of motion that
-ewton himself had listed#. =ince the center of itIs approximately circular
motion was apparently the earth, then the force for circular motion must be by
something, on the moon, in the direction of the center of the earthD The
reasonable assumption would be that the force was somehow by the earth. $t
seemed to somehow relate to gravity, which was not understood at all, but was
apparently was a force by the earth on all other ob.ects in the direction of the
center of the earth.
"0.3 <e,tonKs /niversal &a, o1 ;ravitation
-ewton knew roughly what the si8e of the moonIs orbit was. Le also knew
how long it took the moon to go around the earth during one revolution. From
this he could determine the velocity of the moon, and the acceleration toward
the earth "that is the centripetal acceleration# of the moon while revolving about
the earth. 1nfortunately, that gave an acceleration that was ,1(L smaller
than the moon should have if the gravitational force were that same as it was at
the surface of the earth. -ewton, however, reasoned that, .ust like the light
intensity falls off as the inverse of the distance from the source of light s'uared,
that the gravitational force might also fall off as the inverse of the distance
s'uared from the earthIs center. This can be visuali8ed, as shown by Figure
%?.% below:
373 +ump to Table of (ontents
N#T1: 7t is a little confusing, but sometimes the distance from the center is
referred to as r (radial distance) and sometimes as d (2ust distance). his
varies from textbook to textbook, and for this textbook it is sometimes one way,
and sometimes the other, so 2ust get used to it.
*hen -ewton assumed that the gravitational force at the surface of the earth
dropped off exactly as an inverse r s'uared law "as though the source of
gravity were located at the center of the earth, and the earthIs surface was
exactly one earth radius away#, and then calculated how much gravitational
acceleration this would produce at the moonIs distance from the center of the
earth, he found that it matched exactly the centripetal acceleration that the moon
had as it went around the earth in itIs approximately circular pathD -ewton
reali8ed that the same gravitational force and acceleration we have at the earthIs
surface reached out into space "the heavens# and perfectly explained how the
moon moved around the earth.

377 +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re "0." *nverse C+are &a,D As the distance from the source =
increases, the intensity of whatever decreases by the inverse s'uare of
the distance r from the source, because the same amount of whatever
must fill an area that is larger by the s'uare of r, so it becomes more
diffuse.
=ource
r
3 r
7 r
% x Area
< x Area
J x Area
Le summed up his law for gravitational force, by stating that the force of
gravity between any two ob.ects was proportional to the product of the two
ob.ects masses, and inversely proportional to the distance between the two
ob.ects. This could be summari8ed mathematically by the formula:
-ow -ewton reali8ed that to be truly useful and to be able to really used in
calculations, he needed to know exactly what the force between two ob.ects
was. That meant that he needed to find the constant of proportionality for the
above. -ewton decided to call this constant of proportionality ;. The problem
was to figure out the value of ;.
To determine ; directly, all you would have to do is place two ob.ects "with
mass# near each other and measure the force between them. 1nfortunately, the
gravitational force is actually one of the weakest forces in all of physicsD This
seems to be a silly statement, considering that if you drop something, there is
clearly a strong force pulling it downward, but the gravitational force is only
strong "like that# if one or both of the masses is B09M large "like the mass of
the earth#D (Ies, you are actually being attracted igravitationallyj to every
other person in the room that you are in, but the force of the attraction is so
very very W+,I small that you will never notice it.)
As has been stated, if you are talking about two ob.ects in a room or a
laboratory, the force between the ob.ects is so incredibly small that it is
negligible, and exceedingly hard to measure. $t was impossible to measure it
directly in -ewtonIs time, so he had to try something slightly different. Le
knew the acceleration of the moon toward@around the earth. -ow we know that
it doesnIt matter what the mass of a falling ob.ect is at the surface of the earth,
the gravitational acceleration stays the same. This is because the force of
attraction depends directly on the falling ob.ectIs mass, while the acceleration
depends inversely on the ob.ectIs mass "remember inertia#. -ewton knew this,
and reali8ed that since the mass of the moon was a lot less than the mass of the
earth, that if he knew either 2 or the mass of the earth, then the other could be
calculated. Le knew that the earth had a magnetic field, and the si8e of the
37< +ump to Table of (ontents
*ravitational <orce = <
g
%
m
%
m
3
r
3
earth, and so he guessed that if the earth had about the same density as an iron
magnet, he could estimate the total mass of the earth. $t turned out that he was
very close to the correct answer, and so he was able to estimate 2 fairly closely.
The modern value of 2 is given as:
*ravitational 0onstant = * = &.&G%?
%%
m
7
kg s
3
= &.&G%?
%%
N
m
3
kg
3
-ote two thingsD First, 2 is -6T the gravitational acceleration at the surface of
the earth called g. =econd, notice that 2 must have units. $n order for the
units to match the units for a force for -ewtonIs law of universal gravitation,
when 2 is multiplied by mass "in kg# s'uared on the top and distance "in m#
s'uared below, what is left is
kg m
s
3
which is the units for a force. /ecause
of this, either way of listing the units of 2 above is technically correct, but the
first is probably the standard way.
$n words, as well as formula, this could be stated as:
37E +ump to Table of (ontents
6ne thing that we should note, is that the 2ravitational constant 2 is really
an incredibly small number "the scientific notation of %?
)%%
is the same as
multiplying by one over %?? billionD#. This is why the gravitational force is one
of the weakest of all forces in physics. $n order to be large enough to be a really
noticeable force, the 2ravitational (onstant must be multiplied by at least one
or both of the masses being really tremendous "like a planet or small moon, at
least#. That is why, even though you have a gravitational attraction between
every other person, or ob.ect in the room, that "gravitational# attraction is
totally negligible.
37& +ump to Table of (ontents
<e,tonKs &a, o1 /niversal ;ravitationD
%. 0very ob.ect in the 1niverse will be attracted to every other ob.ect in the
universe with a force that is proportional to both ob.ectIs masses
multiplied together, and that is inversely proportional to the distance r
between the ob.ects s'uared. This can be expressed mathematically as:
where m
?
is the mass of the first ob.ect, m
4
is the mass of the second
ob.ect, and r is the distance between each ob.ectIs center "*e use r here
because it is usually the radius of an orbiting satelliteIs orbit.#
3. The full form of -ewtonIs 5aw of 1niversal 2ravitation goes beyond
.ust the proportional relationship, to the ability to actually calculate
exactly the gravitational force between two ob.ects by including the
universal gravitational constant 2, so that the gravitational force is
given by:
where:
<
g
%
m
%
m
3
r
3
<
g
= *
m
%
m
3
r
3
* = &.&G%?
%%
m
7
kg s
3
-ow one of the first things that we should probably check is how well this
formula works to determine the force by the 0arth on any ob.ect, but in this
case we will use a half kilogram apple. -ow from -ewtonIs 2ravitational 5aw,
we know that the earth is attracting the apple with a force, and by -ewtonIs
third law we know that the apple is attracting the earth with an e'ual "but
opposite direction# force. $f we think of both the 0arth and the apple as roughly
spherical ob.ects with their centers separated from each other by a distance that
is roughly the radius of the 0arth itself, then the 1niversal 5aw of 2ravitation
gives us the following:
but this is .ust our old e'uation F
g
C m g, where F
g
is the gravitational force "or
weight# on an ob.ect with mass m , and g is the gravitational acceleration at the
surface of the 0arth that we measured before, but we have now have derived
the value of g!
37G +ump to Table of (ontents
The 1orce bet,een the 8arth and the appleD
F
0A
= *
m
+arth
m
apple
r
3
=
* m
+arth
r
3
m
apple
which we can simplify by substituting the actual values
for the mass and radius of the +arth
=
&.&G%?
%%
m
7
kg s
3
E.JH x %?
3<
kg
(&.7G x%?
&
m)
3
m
apple
= J.H%
m
s
3
m
apple
= m
apple
g
-ote: Again you need to remember that ; is the gravitational constant which is
the same everywhereD Thus ; stays the same on any planet, dwarf planet, or
moon in the entire universeD 5ittle -, is however the local acceleration due to
gravity, and while it is almost constant for the 0arthIs surface, it changes for
any other planet or moon depending on the planetIs or moonIs mass and radiusD
"0.# ;ravitation ,ithin and ,itho+t 8arth
-ow something that we skipped over before was how to measure the
distance between two ob.ects that are not point ob.ects. =uch ob.ects have
physical dimensions, and a single distance might not be appropriate. =ir $ssac
-ewton actually used the methods of the calculus "and it is a standard calculus
integration problem# to prove that a perfectly spherical ob.ect will have a
gravitational attraction, that acts "outside the sphere# the same as though all of
the mass were concentrated at the center of the sphere. Thus, all of the
distances used for gravitational force calculations are the distances between the
centers of the spheres involved. That means for an ob.ect on the surface of the
earth, the distance will essentially be simply the earthIs radius "or &.7GE x %?
&

m#. This calculation "which re'uires (alculus# is beyond what is covered in
this textbook, but actually involves adding up the gravitational attraction of
each infinitesimally small unit of each ob.ect on the other "you could think of it
as adding up each atomIs gravitational attraction for each atom in the other
ob.ect# to a total gravitational attraction. That turned out to be easy for spheres.
0ven though the planets and the =un are not perfect spheres, they are close
enough that .ust using the center of the planets and the =un work for almost all
distance calculations for the gravitational force in our solar system.
Things get very different if you dig down into a planet. Mou would actually
have less gravitational attraction as you tunnel down into a planet "like the
earth#. $f you were at the very center of the earth in a chamber strong enough
and insulated enough for you to survive the incredible pressure and
temperatures, you would actually float around because you are pulled in all
directions e'ually by the earth above you in all directions. =ome people get
confused and think that instead of floating, you would be pulled "like with
ropes# in each direction, but since each and every atom in your body has 8ero
net gravitational force on it, each atom will float and not pull on its neighboring
atom, so your entire body would float around effortlessly.
37H +ump to Table of (ontents
-ewton used his calculus on spherical symmetric hollow shells of matter.
First, for an ob.ect outside such a shell, when you add up the infinite number of
attractions from each atom of the shell on the ob.ect, the gravitational pull is
exactly the same as if the entire mass of the shell were concentrated at the exact
center of the hollow shellD This can actually be used as part of the calculation
for an entire solid sphere of matter, since that sphere can be thought of as a set
of concentric hollow shells that add up to the entire gravitational force of the
solid sphere as though the entire mass of all of the shells were concentrated at
the center of the solid sphere. -ewton also looked at the case of the ob.ect
being within the shell as shown in Figure %?.3 below:

37J +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re "0.! ;ravitational Force o+tside and inside a spherical shell.
$f the ob.ect is outside the shell, there is a net gravitational attraction
from every part of the shell on the ob.ect, with the sum of all the forces
toward the center of the shell. $f the ob.ect is within the shell, the part of
the shell on the closest side has a small area and mass, but has less
distance, the part of the shell on the far since has larger area and mass,
but more distance. These two effects counteract each other, and make
the net gravitational force on any ob.ect within a spherical shell 8eroD
-et Force toward
center of shell.
=mall area of shell, but
closer to ob.ectD
5arger area of shell, but
farther from ob.ectD
-et Force
8eroD
6b.ect
6b.ect
=pherical =hell
=pherical =hell
6ne of the things that this calculation revealed, is that if you travel down a
vertical shaft toward the center of the earth, then all of the spherical shells
outside of your radius will not contribute any gravitational force on you. This
means that there will be progressively less and less gravitational force on you,
as you get closer to the center of the earth. This is illustrated in the Figure %?.7
below:
3<? +ump to Table of (ontents


Fi-+re "0.3 ;ravitational Force *nside The 8arth
$f a person were to fall into a tunnel drilled through the 0arth "canIt be done
with todayIs technology#, then all spherical shells of earth outside of the
radius of the personIs position will contribute 8ero gravitational pull. 6nly
spherical shells oearth inside of the radius of the personIs position will
contribute to the gravitational pull. At the exact center, the gravitational
pull is 8ero since the pull from all sides balances outD
=hells of 0arth
that person is inside
of donIt contribute
to gravitational pull
on that person.
=hells of 0arth that
person is outside of
do contribute to
gravitational pull on
that person.
erson in imaginary tunnel
drilled through the 0arth.
0arthIs (enter
$n fact, if the 0arth had uniform density, the gravitational force would be
exactly proportional to the distance from the center of the earthD
his can be shown by a simple calculation. 7f you are in a tunnel that has
been drilled through the earth (this is a thought experiment, nobody can make
such a tunnel today), and you are a distance r from the center of the earth, then
the amount of matter of the sphere (made up of spherical shells nearer to the
center of the earth than you are) isC
m
r
=&
<
7
!r
7
where k is the density of the earth.
Now the gravitational force (for any ob2ect below the earth's surface, where
r Q r
e
), as a fraction of the gravitational force at the earth's surface is thusC
his means that the gravitational force is directly proportional to the radius as
you drop down the hypothetical tunnel through the earth (if it has a uniform
density)% his means that a graph of the gravitational force would look like
the figure ?5.B belowC
3<% +ump to Table of (ontents
f
g
(at distance r )
f
g
(at earth' s surface)
=
*
m
r
m
o
r
3
*
m
re
m
o
r
e
3
=
m
r
r
3
m
re
r
e
3
=
&
<
7
!r
7
r
3
&
<
7
!r
e
7
r
e
3
=
r
r
e
3<3 +ump to Table of (ontents
%igure 60+: *raph of the gravitational force (<
g
) versus the radial
distance of the ob2ect from the center of the earth. <or radial distance
values less than the earth's radius r
e
, the force is linear, for distance values
greater than r
e
the force is inverse r
4
. 7f all of the mass of the earth lies
below the radial distance (the entire earth is being crushed into a denser
sphere) the gravitational force increases without bound, and you would
eventually create a !black hole", but that is for a later section%
F
g
9adial
distance
r
e
2ravitational force increases
without bound if all earthIs
mass were crushed to within
radial distanceD
6utside the earthIs surface, the
gravitational force drops off as an
inverse r
3
law.
2ravitational
force actually
decreases since
only mass
below you
affects you.
"0.6 ;ravity and 2irc+lar =rbits
*hen we look up into the sky at night, we often see the moon above our
heads. A ma.or 'uestion for most of the centuries that people looked up into the
sky was, *hy doesnIt the moon fall down on our headsF The 90A5 'uestion
should have been, since the moon is revolving around the 0arth, why doesnIt it
go flying off on a path tangent to the circleF =ir $ssac -ewtonIs work was able
to answer this 'uestion. $t showed that the force keeping the moon moving in a
circle "changing the direction of the moonIs path second)by)second# was
actually the same gravitational force attracting an apple to the earth as it falls
off a treeD Thus gravitational force is the centripetal force keeping the moon
moving in a circle about the earthD-ewton used a thought experiment to try to
understand this. $t has often been called -ewtonIs (annon. -ow a thought
experiment is done on paper or in oneIs head, and there is no intention of
actually doin- the experiment, usually because it would not be possible to do in
the real world. $t is used to explore the conse'uences of an idea, without
actually doing the experiment.
3<7 +ump to Table of (ontents
3<< +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re "0.6 <e,tonKs 2annonD -ewton performed a thought experiment,
making a cannon atop a high mountain that was above the earthIs
atmosphere, and fired cannonballs at progressively higher velocities. The
velocity needed for the landing at A is small, and progressively higher for
/, then higher for (, and then exactly the correct velocity for ! such that
the cannonball falls <.J meters below a hori8ontal line in one secondD
At this velocity, the cannonball is in a circular orbitD This re'uires a
hori8ontal velocity of approximately H??? m@s or H.? km@sD
Lori8ontal
Tangent 5ine
0arth
A
/
(
!
(annon
$n this case, -ewton thought of the world as a sphere, and imagined that there
was a mighty mountain on the world that was so large that it stuck up out of the
atmosphereD 6n top of that mountain, he visuali8ed a cannon that would shoot
a cannonball hori8ontally. This is shown in Figure %?.E below. $n the figure, if
the cannonball is given a fairly small velocity "actually very high for an actual
cannonball# then the ball would fall to the foot of the mountain at point A. $f
the velocity were increased, then the ball would land at point /, but we see that
the surface of the earth has fallen away from a hori8ontal tangent line, and thus
/ is farther along the surface of the earth. $n addition, the pull is always radial,
and toward the center of the 0arth. -ewton reali8ed that with increasing
velocity, the ball would land farther from the mountain such as point (, but then
he reali8ed that if the velocity were sufficiently high, then during a short time
period such as a second, the cannonball would fall below the hori8ontal tangent
line by exactly as much as the earthIs surface fell away from the tangent line,
and thus the cannonball would remain exactly the same distance from the
surface of the earthD As time went on, the cannonball would continue falling
but with the earthIs surface falling away by the same amount, and thus the
cannon ball would circle entirely about the earth, and could conceivably hit the
(annon itself on the way around. =ince it stays exactly the same distance above
the earthIs surface "same potential energy#, and has the same velocity "same
kinetic energy#, if it doesnIt hit the cannon or is slowed down by some other
means "remember it is above the atmosphere, so no air friction#, it will continue
to circle the earth F690B09 in this circular orbitD The gravitational pull of the
earth in this case "since it is always perpendicular to the direction of the
velocity# does not change the speed of the cannonball, but .ust itIs directionD
This is illustrated below in Figure %?.& where we see the velocity vector arrows
in green "dashed lines# and the gravitational force arrows in red "solid lines#.
3<E +ump to Table of (ontents
o 0alculate the actual velocity that the cannonball (or satellite) must be
moving, in order to fall 2ust as much as the earth's surface falls away from the
horizontal tangent line re.uires a little trigonometry. (et's take a look at
<igure ?5.E (below) where we show that for an arc length e.ual to r
.
P in length
for an arbitrary planet or large spherical moon. 7n the <igure ?5.E, you can
see that the path length while the cannonball (or satellite) is moving along an
angle P is 2ust r
.
P as long as the angle is measured in radians rather than
3<& +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re "0.7 2irc+lar =rbit
For a circular orbit, the force of gravity "red solid arrows# is always
perpendicular to the orbital velocity "green dashed arrows#, and since the
distance from the center of the earth never changes, both the force of
gravity and the velocity magnitude "speed# do not changeD
B
B
B
B
F
g
F
g
F
g
F
g
degrees. Iou will remember from trigonometry that the arc length is 2ust r
.
P
for a length of a circle. Now if there were no gravitational force on the
cannonball (or satellite), it would progress along the dashed horizontal tangent
line. $ince the gravitational force causes it to arc along, if the distance it
deviates from the horizontal tangent line (\h) exactly matches the distance that
the sphere has !fallen away" from the horizontal tangent line, then the
cannonball (or satellite) will stay at the same altitude above the surface
forever% 7f you form a right triangle using the vertical line labeled r and the
angled line r U \h, you see a right triangle with the side opposite P along the
horizontal tangent to surface line.
3<G +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re "0.9 The change in elevation Ah, from a hori8ontal tangent line
as an ob.ect moves along near the planetIs surface a linear distance
e'ual to r
.
], where r is the radius of the orbit at the surface, and ]
is the angular distance "in radians# that the ob.ect travels along in
itIs orbit. This drawing is not to scale as we will show in
calculations.
}
h
r
r
'
r
.
'
lanet
=urface
Tangent to
=urface
Now from rigonometry and the right triangle given, cos P is the ad2acent over
hypotenuse, orC
7f we use the values of the radius of the earth (r
e
= A.=E x ?5
A
m), and the
value of \h that represents the distance that an ob2ect will fall vertically in one
second at the surface of the earth ( \h = B.D m) we get a value of P = 5.55?4B
radians% $ince this is the angle the cannonball or satellite will move in one
second, the length of the arc,or linear distance traveled will be 2ust r
.
P which is
ED5? m using the radius of the earth and the angle P calculated, the linear
velocity re.uired for a circular orbit, (a constant altitude above the ground
surface) is 2ust that linear distance divided by one second which gives us E.D5 x
?5
=
m@s or E.D km@s%
hus orbital speed has been calculated, using this method, as being E.D km@s
tangential velocity. his would work if there were no atmosphere, but an ob2ect
moving at this speed at the surface of the earth would burn up due to friction
long before it completed even one orbit around the planet. +ssentially it would
be a sea level meteor%
&n entirely different way of calculating the velocity for a circular orbit is to
view the gravitational force as being the total centripetal force keeping the
satellite moving in a circular path. his can be derived as follows using f
c
= f
g
C
0'uation %?.%
3<H +ump to Table of (ontents
cos =
r
r +h
= cos
%
(
r
r+h
)
f
c
= f
g
m v
3
r
= *
- m
r
3
v
3
=
* -
r
v =

* -
r
$ince the little m's in the above e.uation cancel out going from the second step
to the third, it means that the mass of the satellite is not a factor in determining
the velocity of the orbit. 7t doesn't matter if it is the mass of a wrench, an
astronaut, or a huge $pace $huttle, the orbital velocity is exactly the same for
all cases.
<or the case of an earth orbit, if we use the values of G = A.AE x ?5
9??
N m
3
kg
3
,
and the mass of the earth as M = F.DG x ?5
4B
kg and the radius of the earth as r
= A.=E x ?5
A
m, we find using the formula above that the tangential orbital
velocity for a satellite right above the surface of the earth is 2ustC
v = E.D? x ?5
=
m@s or E.D km@s, &ust like the previous method!
)nfortunately, if a satellite were to orbit at the earth's surface, it would burn
up due to air friction% $o let's look at a satellite orbiting at 455 km up. hat
means that we increase the radius of the orbital circle by adding 455 km to the
radius of the earth, which will now give us the value of r = A.FE x ?5
A
m, (since
455 km = 4.55 x ?5
F
m and 4.55 x ?5
F
m U A.=E x ?5
A
m = A.FE x ?5
A
m). his
would now give a tangential orbital velocity for a satellite orbiting at an
altitude of 455 km above the earth's surface, using the formula?5.? aboveC
v = E.ED x ?5
=
m@s or E.ED km@s,
&ust slightly less than the previous method!
3<J +ump to Table of (ontents
"0.7 &+nar and olar 8clipses
=omething that a student of physics should know "even though it is part of
Astronomy# is to understand the difference between 5unar 0clipses and =olar
0clipses. The definition of an eclipse that $ found in *ikipedia was An eclipse
is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical ob.ect is temporarily
obscured, either by passing into the shadow of another body or by having
another body pass between it and the viewer. For our 0arth),oon system, this
can mean that either the moon is passing within the 0arthIs shadow "lunar
eclipse# or the 0arth is in the ,oonIs shadow "solar eclipse#. These are shown
below in Figure %?.H, where the =un is actually positioned very far to the left:


-ow there are a couple of characteristics about each of these types of
3E? +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re "0.: 0ven though these illustrations are not)to)scale, they show
what is happening in a lunar eclipse and a solar eclipse.
0arth
=un
0arth
,oon
0arthIs
=hadow
=un
,oon
,oonIs
=hadow
&+nar 8clipse
olar 8clipse
eclipses that you should see from this figure. For the case of a lunar eclipse, the
,oon has passed into the 0arthIs shadow. =ince the shadow can cover the
entire ,oon, the whole moon can be darkened. Actually since some sunlight is
scattered through the 0arthIs atmosphere at the edges of the 0arth, there is often
a little red and orange light in the 0arthIs shadow, so the ,oon often turns
almost a dark red or orange color during a lunar eclipse. $n addition, as the
,oon passes into the 0arthIs shadow, it is sometimes possible to see the
curvature of the 0arth pro.ected onto the ,oon "early evidence that the 0arth
was a sphere#. $n addition, since anyone on the side of the 0arth facing the
,oon can see the lunar eclipse, more people have seen lunar eclipses than solar
eclipses. =ince the ,oonIs orbit is tilted a little, the ,oon does not go through
the 0arthIs shadow on every orbit, but it does so every few orbits. *hen it
passes close to the 0arthIs shadow, then from the 0arth the side that you see is
fully illuminated by the =un, so a lunar eclipse only occurs at the Full ,oon
time of the month.
For a solar eclipse, the 0arth is passing into the ,oonIs shadow. =ince the
,oon is much smaller than the 0arth, its shadow is smaller, so it only strikes a
fairly small portion of the 0arthIs surface. Thus only the people that are
standing "or sitting# at the spot on the 0arth where the ,oonIs shadow is
striking will see the solar eclipse. As the ,oon moves around the 0arth, its
shadow moves across the 0arthIs surface, so there is a path across the 0arthIs
surface that will be able to observe a solar eclipse. =ince the ,oonIs shadow is
smaller than the 0arthIs, the 0arth misses the ,oonIs shadow more often then
the ,oon misses the 0arthIs shadow, so in addition to fewer people seeing each
solar eclipse, they occur less often meaning fewer people see them. They are,
however, truly spectacular since in a total solar eclipse day becomes night as the
,oon blocks out the =un, and you can even see the starsD *hen the 0arth
passes close to the ,oonIs shadow, then from the 0arth the side of the moon
that you see is the side with no light from the =un, so a solar eclipse only occurs
at the -ew ,oon time of the month. The solar eclipse is also wonderful for
astronomers since by happy coincidence the ,oonIs angular diameter and the
=unIs angular diameter happen to be almost exactly the same value. This means
that during a total solar eclipse, the moon exactly covers the =unIs surface "as
seen from 0arth#, and you can see the solar prominences "solar bursts# and solar
corona "solar atmosphere# about the =un, which could not be easily seen
without modern astronomical instruments.
3E% +ump to Table of (ontents
$n Figure %?.H, to keep to the main ideas, $ have not shown the partial
shadow region "called the penumbra# which usually surrounds the total shadow
region "called the umbra#. For the case of a lunar eclipse, this region is the
gradually darkening region between the lit moon portion and the fully dark part
of the moon of the full eclipse as seen from the 0arth. For the case of a solar
eclipse, since the moon is smaller relative to the =un than the 0arth, there is a
path of total eclipse that crosses the 0arthIs surface, but on either side of it there
is a larger path that is only partially shadowed "as seen from the ground, the
=un is only partially covered by the ,oon# and the effect is much less
spectacular since even a little sunlight makes it look like a dimmed day rather
than nighttime.
"0.9 Tidal Forces on =bLects
/efore starting to look at orbits other than circular ones, there is one
extremely important gravitational effect called tidal forces that $ would like to
go over. The main impact of tidal forces on the earth is the ocean tides that
result from them. The importance of this in daily life depends on how near you
are to an ocean coast, but you should understand the reason for tides anyway.
Tidal forces are the gravitational forces that cause the ocean tides, but they
are not the direct gravitational forces, but rather are the result of a di11erence in
gravitational forces by an ob.ect. First we need to remember that if there is a
gravitational force on an ob.ect, that the force will always be accelerating that
ob.ect, even if it is .ust changing the ob.ectIs direction of motion. -ow suppose
we take two spots on the 0arth. 6ne spot is on the side closest to the ,oon, and
the other spot is on the side farthest from the ,oon. An ob.ect with the same
mass at each point will feel a gravitational pull toward the moon, but the
forces wonIt be the same since the spot closer to the ,oon will have more
gravitational force pulling it "since gravity is an inverse r
3
force, with smaller
r there will be more force#. 5ook at Figure %?.J below to see this effect:
3E3 +ump to Table of (ontents

$n Figure %?.J "which is not at all to scale# you can see that the gravitational
force on the part of the ocean that is nearer the ,oon is much larger than the
gravitational force on the part of the ocean that is farther from the ,oon. This
means that the two sides of the ocean experience different accelerations "similar
to the arrows shown# and thus the two sides of the ocean are being stretched
like a rubber band and are stretched apart. This forces the ocean to bulge in
both directions "away from the ,oon and close to the ,oon#. This is shown in
an extremely exaggerated way in this figure, but in actuality it is a bulge of only
a few meters and not thousands of kilometers "as shown in this not)to)scale#
figure.
$f the ,oon were much much further away and so much more massive that it
still pulled on the 0arth as much as it does now, this tidal effect would go away
"or at least be much smaller#. This is because the pull "and acceleration# on
both sides of the ocean would be almost the same, and if all parts of an ob.ect
have the same acceleration, the ob.ect accelerates away as a whole, and nothing
tries to pull it apart. $n fact, the =un does pull on the 0arth with a gravitational
3E7 +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re "0.9 The gravitational force "F
g%
# and its acceleration on the
water closer to the ,oon is larger than the gravitational force "F
g3
#
and its acceleration on the water farther from the moon since
gravity is an inverse r
3
force. The difference in force and
acceleration stretches and elongates the water into an ellipsoid that
is only a few meters different lengths instead of the exaggerated
thousands of kilometers in this "not)to)scale# figure.
,oon
0arth K 6cean
r
%
r
3
F
g% F
g3
force that is much greater than the ,oonIs gravitational force, but because it is
so much farther away from the 0arth than the ,oon is, itIs tidal force on the
0arth is actually much smaller than the ,oonIs since the di11erence in the
gravitational forces on each side of the ocean is much less.
=ince the main tidal force creating the bulges of the ocean are caused by the
moon, then there is a high tide on the side nearest the moon, and a high tide on
the side furthest away from the ,oon. =ince the 0arth is spinning "taking about
3< hours to rotate# this produces about two high tides, and two low tides each
day at the ocean. 1nfortunately the 0arthIs spin also tends to drag this bulge
with it, and with the land masses getting in the way, the high and low tides are
not always aligned with the 0arth),oon line.
Another tide effect is that there are spring tides and neap tides, about G days
apart "or a 'uarter of the time it takes the ,oon to revolve around the 0arth#.
=pring tides occur when the =un, ,oon, and 0arth are all lined up. As seen
from the 0arth, either the =un and ,oon are close in the sky, or they are on
opposite sides of the sky. $n either case, the tidal forces of the ,oon "which
dominates# have the tidal forces of the =un added to it. Thus spring tides tend
to be a little higher at high tide, and a little lower at low tide than average.
-eap tides occur when the line between the 0arth and the ,oon forms a J?
o
angle. -ow the tidal forces of the =un are opposed to the tidal forces of the
,oon "which still dominates# and the high tides are smaller than average, while
the low tides are not as low as average.
-ow if the 0arth did not have a li'uid ocean on most of its surface, the rock
of the planet itself would stretch a bit, but only by a few centimeters and not by
meters. Another way of thinking about tidal forces would be to look at the sides
of a satellite going around a planet in a circular orbit, like Figure %?.%? below:
3E< +ump to Table of (ontents

=ince orbits that are closer to the planet re'uire greater orbital speeds to
remain in a circular orbit, you can see that the side of the satellite that is closer
to the planet should be orbiting at a higher speed than the side of the satellite
that is further from the planet. This difference in speed will tend to try to pull
the satellite apart. -ormally the gravity of the satellite is enough to hold the
satellite together, but if the tidal force is less than the gravitational force holding
the satellite together, the satellite will be torn apartD The distance that a satellite
can be from itIs planet, and still hold together is called the 9oche limit or 9oche
radius. This was named after fdouard 9oche, the French astronomer who
theoretically calculated this limit in %H<H. This calculated limit depends upon
the density of the satellite and lanet, as well as how fluid the satellite acts "if it
3EE +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re "0."0 Another way of looking at tidal forces is to look at the
orbit of the outer side of the satellite, as well as the orbit of the
inner side of the satellite. =ince orbits that are closer to the planet
re'uire greater speeds than orbits that are further away, you can
see that the inner side of the satellites should have a higher speed,
while the outer side should have a slower speed. This difference
in speed tends to try to pull the satellite apartD
lanet
=atellite
6uter orbital velocity
$nner orbital velocity
distorts upon tidal forces, then it stretches out and that makes the tidal forces
even greater#. 1sually this orbital radius is in the ballpark of being about 3.E
times the radius of the lanet. This means that if you had a lanet with a big
pile of gravel for a satellite, then the gravity of the pile of gravel would pull it
roughly into a sphere, and if itIs orbit were outside of the 9oche limit it would
stay clumped together, held by its gravitational attraction. $f it were inside of
the 9oche limit, the weak gravitational forces of the gravel would be overcome
by the tidal forces, and the pile of gravel would start to spread around in its
orbit and essentually become rings of particles about the planetD =aturnIs rings,
for example, are within the 9oche limit for =aturn, and are probably due to a
small moon that ventured into the 9oche limit and broke up to form the
beautiful rings that we admire so much today. ,any artificial satellites in orbit
around the 0arth today are well within the 9oche limit, but they do not break up
and become pulled apart because they are held together by the cohesion of the
materials "steel, aluminum, etc# rather than being held together loosely by
gravity. There are some planets moons that are slightly within the 9oche limit,
but that is because they are held together by the cohesion of rock.
3E& +ump to Table of (ontents
"0.: AeplerKs &a,s 1or =rbits
-ow that we have looked at the physics behind a circular orbit, we need to
look at what was known about planetary orbits in -ewtonIs time. $t was well
known in -ewtonIs day that the planets moved around the =un in elliptical
orbits "a bit like an oval# with the =un at one Foci of the ellipse. $n order to
understand how this was known, we need to look at several historical
individuals. *e have already noted that (opernicus had published ".ust before
his death# the book !e revolutionibus orbium coelestium "#n the
,evolutions of the 0elestial $pheres#, in %E<7, describing his heliocentric theory
that the planets "including the 0arth# moved around the =un, rather than moving
around the 0arth. This was a ma.or breakthrough in theory, based upon
building a model to fit the observations of the time, but did not include any
reason ,hy the planets would go around the =un. The physical mechanisms
behind such motion were not considered at the time "and since -ewton did not
publish his 5aw of 1niversal 2ravitation until %&HG, really couldnIt be
successfully accounted for.#
$ would first like to focus your attention on Tycho
/rahe "%E<&)%&?%#, as it was his work that lead to
4eplerIs later great discoveries. Tycho /rahe was a
!anish nobleman and Astronomer, who led a very
tempestuous life, but was devoted to extremely accurate
observations of the positions of the stars and planets in
the heavens. 9emember that this was before the
telescope had been invented by 2alileo and turned to
the heavens for study. Tycho /rahe used very large and
precise sextants or angular measuring devices with
extremely fine angular markings on them used for
sighting a star or planet to locate its position in the
heavens extremely accurately. $nterestingly, he tried to
formulate a compromise between (opernicusI view of
the =un at the center of the 1niverse, and the older tolmeic view or the earth at
the center of the 1niverse. Le postulated a view that the 0arth was at the center
of the 1niverse, and the =un "and moon# went around the 0arth, but that all the
other planets went around the =un in circles, while the =un was moving around
the 0arth. This is mathematically the same as (opernicus in terms of positions,
3EG +ump to Table of (ontents
7llustration 4C +duard
+nder 's portrait of the
astronomer Tycho
Hrahe (from 3ikipedia
0ommons)
but as many such compromises, was not accepted by those holding the other
views.
To some extent, this shows the power of the scientific method, because while
typically compromises usually are appropriate, the scientific method in this case
used continually better observations and evidence, coupled with the formation
of -ewtonIs 1niversal 5aw of 2ravitation, showing ,hy the model of the
planets going around the =un was better at making predictions than the other
models. $n %EG3 /rahe made an astonishing discovery concerning a new star
that was observed by many people in the heavens. The new star was brighter
than Benus, and could even be seen during the daytime. This was a supernova,
which is an exceedingly rare event, and caused confusion, because the stars "as
opposed to the moving planets# were regarded as fixed and unchanging. ,any
intellectuals of the day said that this ob.ect must actually be very near the earth,
and not among the fixed stars. Tycho /rahe was able to use his excellent and
very accurate measuring instruments to show without a doubt that this new
star was actually far beyond the moon, and thus was regarded as being in the
fixed stars. 5ater in %EGE, 4ing Frederick $$ of !enmark offered Tycho
/rahe an entire island called Lveen, where Tycho built an estate and
observatory. Tycho /rahe compiled a huge library of observations of extreme
precision "usually less than a minute of a degree or arc, or about %@7?
th
of the
diameter of the moon as seen from earth#. $n %&??, +ohannes 4epler "%EG%)
%&7?# went to work for Tycho /rahe. 4epler was assigned work on the
problem of ,arIs orbit not fitting predictions. 4epler apparently thought that
he would have access to all of /raheIs observations, but /rahe closely guarded
his observations and was very secretive about them. Their working relationship
was somewhat difficult, but 4epler continued to work with the data for ,ars,
and later after /raheIs death "in %&?%# obtained access to all of /raheIs
observations.
$t was fortunate that 4epler was initially assigned the problem of ,arIs orbit.
This is because, aside from ,ercury "which stays too close to the =un for really
accurate observations# and the demoted planet luto, which was not even
close to being discovered in 4eplerIs time, it has the highest eccentricity of all
the planets in the solar system. This means that its orbit is the most elliptical of
all the planets that /rahe had detailed observations of. At first 4epler tried the
typical method of his day of trying to fit /raheIs observations of ,arIs orbit by
3EH +ump to Table of (ontents
using circles of various forms, and epicycles "circles
on circles upon circles, etc#. This was in the
philosophical view that circles were perfect, and that
the planets must move in circular paths "of some
sort#. 4epler soon found that none of the ideas of
perfect circles that he tried, would match the
observations of /rahe. 4epler then showed his faith
in the accuracy of /raheIs observations at that point,
because many other people would have .ust said that
/raheIs observations were a bit off, and that you
could fit the data to a set of circles in that case, but
4epler believed that /rahe was too careful for that,
and that the observations were accurate. At that
point he hit upon the idea of using an ellipse for the
path of ,ars around the =un, and then found that
using an ellipse, he could fit /raheIs observations
exactlyD 6ut of this work and use of observations,
4epler came up with three laws of planetary motion.
The first two were published in %&?J, while the third was published %? years
later in %&%J. They are given below as:
$n the next section, we will examine each of these laws individually, but for
3EJ +ump to Table of (ontents
7llustration =C & ?A?5
portrait of the astronomer
Iohannes Jepler by an
unknown artist (from
3ikipedia 0ommons)
AeplerKs Three &a,s o1 Planetary .otionD
". The path of each planet in the solar system is an ellipse, with
the =un at one focus of the ellipse.
!. As each planet moves around the =un, if you were to draw an
imaginary line from the =un to the planet, this line would sweep
out e'ual areas in e'ual times. "This will result in saying that as
a planet is closer to the sun, it moves faster, and as it is further
from the =un, it is moving slower.#
3. The s'uare of the orbital period of a planet is directly
proportional to the cube of the semi)ma.or axis of its orbit.
now .ust remember that 4epler derived each of these laws from direct
observations of the motions of the planets as observed from 0arth, and did not
derive them from a basic physics law, such as -ewtonIs 5aw of 2ravitation
"since that wouldnIt be published by -ewton until %&HG, or about G? years
later#.
3&? +ump to Table of (ontents
"0.9 ;ravity and 8lliptical =rbits (AeplerKs "
st
&a,$
4eplerIs first law states that the path of each planet in the solar system is an
ellipse, with the =un at one focus of the ellipse. -ow an ellipse is defined such
that if you have two points on a plane "these are the foci of the ellipse#, and the
sums of the distances from the foci to any point on an ellipse is constant. This
means that on the figure below, for Focus % and Focus 3, and A-M point on the
ellipse, the distance from the point to F% plus the distance to F3 will allways
add up to the same distanceD This is often drawn on a sheet of paper by taking a
loop of string, an putting a pin at each focus. *ith a pencil in the loop of string,
and stretching the string out, an ellipse will be traced because the distance
between the pins is always the same, and the loop has a constant circumference,
so it will trace out an ellipse where the distance from the point where the pencil
is to one focus plus the distance to the other focus plus the distance between the
foci "constant for each ellipse# will be the same. $f the two foci are very far
apart, the ellipse is long and skinny "almost cigar shaped#. As the two foci get
closer, the ellipse gets closer to a circle in shape, and when the two foci merge
and become one point, the ellipse becomes a perfect circle where the distance
from each focus becomes .ust the radius of the circle. 5ook at the Figure %?.%%
below:
3&% +ump to Table of (ontents
4eplerIs law says that the =un is at one focus of the ellipse, so what is at the
other focusF The answer is absolutely nothingD The foci of an ellipse are .ust
mathematical concepts. $t turns out that the =un will be at one focus of a
planetary ellipse, due to the 5aw of 2ravitation later discovered by -ewton, but
nothing is at the other focus.
$n Figure %?.%% above, you can easily tell the two upper drawings are
ellipses, but unfortunately most of the planetary orbits are so close to circles
"like the bottom drawing# that you couldnIt tell them by eye alone, but would
have to do careful observations and measurments "like /rahe did#. 0ven ,ars
orbit would look very close to a circle. The top drawing showing a very
3&3 +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re "0.""
*idely separated Foci "F% and
F3# forms a long and skinny
ellipse,
(loser Foci "F% and F3# forms
closer to circular shaped ellipse,
and when
Foci merge together then F% is
at the =ame position as F3
which is the center of the circle
( which the ellipse has now
become.
"$n all cases, d% plus d3 stays
the same for each ellipseD#
F%
F3
d% d3
d% C d3 C r
F% C F3 C (
*idely separated Foci
(loser Foci
Foci merge to form
(enter of (ircle
F% F3
d%
d3
eccentric orbit would be like many comet orbits that travel inward to the inner
solar system planets, and then back out to the cold of the outer solar system.
Thus, for many story problems involving planets, the story problem will assume
that the orbit is close enough to a circle for the problem, with the =un at the
center of the circle "where the two foci have merged#. 9emember that a circle
is a special case of an ellipseD
Now if you can remember from geometry (if it was covered), an ellipse is a
conic section. hat means that if you had a vertical hollow cone sitting on a
plane (point upward), and sliced the cone with an imaginary plane, the path
that the imaginary plane sliced the vertical cone could be a conic section with
the following shapesC
?. & horizontal slice (parallel to the plane the cone is standing on) would map
out a circle.
4. & slight angle above a horizontal slice would map out an ellipse (the larger
the angle the more the eccentricity).
=. he ellipse gets more and more eccentric (long axis gets much longer than
short axis) until the slicing plane becomes parallel to the edge of the cone, so
that the ellipse opens up into a parabola.
B. &s the slicing plane gets closer to vertical, the shape is a hyperbola.
hese shapes have particular meanings for planetary orbits, but it is also
important to note that each shape merges slowly from one to the next. he
circle is 2ust an ellipse with no eccentricity. he ellipse gradually elongates
along the ma2or axis until eventually it breaks apart and becomes a parabola,
and the parabola widens and becomes a hyperbola. ;oth the parabola and
hyperbola are not truly orbits, but open ended paths around the $un that would
represent the path of an ob2ect coming from lout therel with high enough
speed, that it never has a true orbit, but simply gets its path bent by the $un's
gravitational field until it gets lflung awayl never to return to the $un. $ee the
figure ?5.?4 below showing the relationship between the conic sections and the
related orbits.
3&7 +ump to Table of (ontents
3&< +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re "0."! The related (onic sections "slices of a cone# and their
related orbits.
Circle
Ellipse
arabola
!"perbola
Cone
#lices
$rbi%s
=un
"0."0 ;ravity and 8lliptical =rbits (AeplerKs !
nd
&a,$
4eplerIs 3
nd
5aw states that As each planet moves around the =un, if you
were to draw an imaginary line from the =un to the planet, this line would
sweep out e'ual areas in e'ual times. This is illustrated in Figure %?.%7 below:
The main result of this 5aw, as it is stated, is that as a planet is closer to the
sun, it moves faster, and as it is further from the =un, it is moves slower.
*hile this 5aw was found to be true from observations, it is still a little
unsatisfying, unless we know why it happens. 1sing -ewtonIs 5aw of
2ravitation and force components, we can get a better understanding of why
4eplerIs 3
nd
5aw is correct. $t has to do with the main attractive force being
from the =un, which is located not at the center of the ellipse, but at one focus
of the ellipse. $n Figure %?.&, for a circular orbit, you should see that the
gravitational force at all points is perpendicular to the velocity component
tangent to the curve. Thus this gravitational force only serves to change the
direction of the velocity and not the magnitude. =ince the =un is at one focus of
the elliptical path, this is not always true for an elliptical orbit. At every point
3&E +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re "0."3 4eplerIs 3nd 5aw says that an imaginary line must
sweep out e'ual areas. This means that as a planet goes around the
=un, it must move faster when it is close to the =un, and move
more slowly when it is farther away from the =un on itIs elliptical
path.
=ame
Area
Ligh
Belocity
5ow
Belocity
except the closest approach "called perihelion for planets# and the farthest
distance "called aphelion for planets# there is a component of the gravitational
force that is parallel to the velocity at that point. That means that the speed is
changing for the planet for all times except at aphelion and perihelion. 5ook at
Figure %?.%< below. 6n this figure, assuming the planet is revolving counter)
clockwise, for all points on the upper half of the figure there is a component of
gravitational force in the direction of the velocity vector, so the planet is
speeding up. *hile for the bottom half, there is a component of gravitational
force opposite the direction of the velocity vector, so the planet is slowing
down. The perpendicular component of the gravitational force is always doing
what the gravitational force is doing at A and (N .ust changing the direction of
the velocity vector without changing the magnitude of the velocity.
That terminology for the closest approach and farthest point in an elliptical
orbit probably needs to be explained a little more. An apsis "from 2reek# is
the closest point to one of the foci for an elliptical orbit, while the periapsis
"2reek also# is the farthest distance from the foci of an elliptical orbit.
Astronomers and space engineers have adapted these terms by using apo and
peri as the first syllable and the 2reek root for the astronomical body that is at
one of the foci of the ellipse. =o for example, the 0arth is at one of the foci of
the ellipse for any satellite moving around the 0arth "like the ,oon for
example#. Thus at its closest approach, we say the ,oon is at perigee "peri for
closest, and gee for 2eos which means 0arth#. *hen thinking of a planet or
ob.ect moving around the sun, we use perihelion "peri for closest, and helion for
Lelios which means =un#. This can be used for any planet or body that a
satellite is orbiting, but $ will stick to orbits around the =un and 0arth for now.
3&& +ump to Table of (ontents
3&G +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re "0."# 2ravitational force by =un on planet are perpendicular
" # to the velocities at points A and (, but at points / and ! there is
a component of the gravitational force that is parallel "^^# to the
velocities. For point / the parallel component of the force is in the
direction of the velocity, so it speeds up the planet. For point ! the
parallel component of the force is opposite the direction of the
velocity so it slows down the speed. Thus you get the highest
velocity at the closest approach to the =un, and the lowest velocity at
the furthest point from the =un.
&
B
B
'
B
F
g
(
)
F
g
*
+
F
g

F
g

F
g F
g

F
g

=un
(
!
"0."" ;ravity and 8lliptical =rbits (AeplerKs 3
rd
&a,$
4eplerIs 7
rd
law states that The s'uare of the orbital period "T# of a planet is
directly proportional to the cube of the semi)ma.or axis of its orbit. he semi9
ma2or axis of an ellipse is 2ust half of the long axis of the ellipse. his is the
distance from the center of the ellipse (not a focus) to either of the farthest
points of the elliptical path. his is the more accurate version of Nepler's =
rd

(aw, but you will notice that if the ellipse is close to a circle, then the semi9
ma2or axis is approximately the radius of the circle. $o for planets, the average
radius (r) of the orbit can be substituted for the !semi9ma2or axis". his lets us
use Nepler's =
rd
(aw to compare orbital periods for various planets by using the
constant of proportionality such thatC

3
% r
7
(

%
3
r
%
7
=

3
3
r
3
7
+.uation ?5.4
where the subscripts ? and 4 represent two different planets or satellites.
+xample ?C 7f the earth's average orbital radius is ?.F5 x ?5
G
km, and
^upiter's average orbital radius is E.EG x ?5
G
km, then how long is ^upiter's
!year" or the time it takes to go around the $unM
$olutionC )sing Nepler's =
rd
(aw in the form of e.uation ?5.4, and
remembering that the +arth goes around the $un in exactly ? year, we haveC

^
3
r
^
7
=

+
3
r
+
7
or using algebraC

^
3
=
+
3
r
^
7
r
+
7

^
=
+

r
^
7
r
+
7
3&H +ump to Table of (ontents

^
= % year

(
G.GH x%?
H
%.E? x%?
H
)
7
= % year%%.H = %%.H years
which is close to the exact value of ??.GA? years that 7 2ust looked up%
Iou can also use Nepler's =
rd
(aw for earth satellites, using the orbital
radius from the center of the earth to compare various satellite periods. 3hile
the semi9ma2or axis would have to be used for very elliptical satellites, typically
the orbital radius for close to circular satellites can be used.
-ow before we leave 4eplerIs 7
rd
5aw, there is one very special orbit around
the earth called geostationary or geosynchronous orbit. $t is the orbit with a
radius that gives it a period of exactly one day. $f a satellite is place in this
orbit, above the e'uator, and is revolving in the same direction as the 0arth is
rotating "counterclockwise as seen from above the -orth pole#, and is a really
circular orbit, then it goes around the earth one time while the earth is spinning
aound once below it. This means that the satellite in this orbit appears to
hang above one spot on the e'uatorD This is a very desired orbit for most
communication satellites, and direct satellite TB transmitting satellites because
any ground antenna "at A-M point on the side of the earth facing the satellite#
can point its dish at one spot in the sky and -0B09 have to change the
direction of the dish antennaD =ince this orbit is so highly desired, it is a very
regulated orbit, and companies and countries have to get appropriate
authori8ation to place any satellite there. A rule of thumb says that this orbit is
V & times the radius of the 0arth away from the 0arth, but letIs use 4eplerIs 7
rd

5aw to calculate it more closely.
0xample 3: $f the 0arthIs radius is &.7G x %?
&
m, and a satellite skimming the
earthIs surface takes H<.7 minutes to go around the earth once, what is the
altitude of a geostationary satelliteF "Lint: 9emember that the radius of the
orbit is to the center of the 0arth, but the altitude is the distance above the
3&J +ump to Table of (ontents
surface of the 0arth.#
=olution: Again using 4eplerIs 7
rd
5aw in the form of e'uation %?.3, and
remembering that a geostationary satellite must have a period of revolution
of 3< hours exactly, we can solve using:

*
3
r
*
7
=

+
3
r
+
7
using the 2 subscript for geostationary
or using algebra we get:
r
*
7
= r
e
7

*
3

+
3

r
*
= r
+

+
)
3
r
*
= r
+

(
3<hr x&? min/ hr
H<.7min
)
3

r
*
= r
+
&.&7
Thus the satellite must be &.&7 times the 0arthIs radius away from the center
of the earth, or at an altitude of "&.&7)%.??# r
0
or E.&7 r
0
, which is E.&7
.
&7G? km
C 7E.J thousand km above the 0arthIs surfaceD -ow you see why & r
0
is a fairly
good approximation, since it is greater than the altitude above the 0arthIs
surface, but less than the actual radial distance from the center of the 0arth.
3G? +ump to Table of (ontents
"0."! 8scape Velocity (3hat -oes +p( .ay not co.e do,nB$
-ow you may remember that the formula for potential energy is .ust
0 C mgAh. =o from this formula, in order to raise an ob.ect to an infinite
height would take an infinite amount of energyD -ow an ob.ect can never reach
an infinite height, but even an extremely great distance "like from the earth to
the moon# would take so much energy by using this formula that it would have
been impossible for the American astronauts to have gone to the moon back in
%J&JD
This formula assumes that the force of gravity stays constant over the entire
change of height "Ah#. *hile this is approximately true close to the surface of
the earth, if the height that the ob.ect is raised is really large "say like more than
a few hundred kilometers#, the force of gravity is reduced by the factor of
inverse r s'uared "%@r
3
# from -ewtonIs 5aw of 1niversal 2ravitation. -ow at
first thought, you might think that even if the amount of energy re'uired to raise
an ob.ect is reduced as the ob.ect gets further from the center of the planet, the
fact that you have to keep adding an infinite number of these amounts of
potential energy would approach an infinite amount of energy. That turns out
not to be the caseD An analogy would be if you had a glass and a faucet of
running water. $f, in the first second, you put half a glass of water into the
glass, then the glass would be half full. $f, in the second second, you put %@<
th
of
a glass of water into the glass, then the glass would be 7@<
th
full. $f, in the third
second, you put %@H
th
of a glass of water into the glass, then the glass would be
G@H
th
full. $f, in each following second, you filled half of the remaining empty
space in the glass with water, you would be adding water for an infinite amount
of time, but never "'uite# have a full glass of waterD $n a similar way, there is a
certain amount of potential energy that an ob.ect would have when it was an
infinite distance away from the surface of the earth "easy to calculate, but it
unfortunately re'uires calculus so we wonIt calculate it in this textbook#, and if
the ob.ect has any kinetic energy greater than this potential energy, it will leave
the earth entirelyD 5ook at the energy level diagram in Figure %?.%E below:
3G% +ump to Table of (ontents
$f an ob.ect is at the 0arthIs surface and has no 40 "defined to be the 0arth
=urface 0nergy 5evel# then it .ust stays at the surface, because with no 40 it
has no motion up the energy Lill. $f at the 0arthIs surface, it has a lot of 40
"say the Trapped 0nergy level#, but still not 0scape 0nergy, it can either move
up to the trapped line "where all energy is 0 and with no 40 it stops#, and then
fall back, or go into orbit somewhere above the 0arthIs surface. $f at the 0arthIs
surface it has 40 e'ual to 0scape 0nergy exactly, then it will move up the hill
continuously, but slower and slower, never falling back as it converts its 40
into 0 and move slower and slower, but never 'uite reaching 8ero 40 and
stopping. This special 4inetic 0nergy is caused when the ob.ect has a speed
that has been given the name 0scape =peed. $f an ob.ect has this speed, "with
enough extra speed to push through the remaining atmosphere# it will never
return to the 0arthD Lowever, as it gets extremely far from the 0arth it
eventually effectively slows down to almost a standstill. $f, at the earthIs
surface, it has 40 e'ual to 0scape 0nergy with extra 40 left over, it will leave
the 0arth, and always have a large amount of speed left over. /oth the Boyager
spacecraft were given 0scape 0nergy with extra 40 left over "not .ust by their
rockets, but by doing a slingshot gravity maneuver with both +upiter and
=aturn#, and so they are leaving the =olar =ystem and will reach the distance of
the nearest stars in about 3E,??? to E?,??? years. 0ach ob.ect has an escape
speed that is different based upon the mass of the ob.ect and the distance from
3G3 +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re "0."6 This shows the otential 0nergy Lill that an ob.ect must
have to leave a planet like the 0arth.
0arth =urface 0nergy 5evel
Trapped
0scape 0nergy
0scape 0nergy with 0xtra 40 5eft 6ver
the center of the ob.ect "usually the ob.ectIs surface#. The following Table lists
the 0scape =peed for a number of ob.ects in the =olar =ystem.
Table "0." 8scape peeds 1or everal =bLects in olar yste.
=bLect in olar yste. 8scape peed (k.Os$
=un "at =unIs surface# &%G.3
=un "but out at the 0arthIs orbit# <3.%
0arth %%.3
,oon 3.<
,ars E.?
+upiter &?.3
=aturn 7&.?
Typical Asteroid ?.?%
Typically the more massive an ob.ect is, the greater the escape speed. For
some smaller ob.ects, such as a typical Asteroid, or the tiny ,oons of ,ars
"hobos and !emos# the escape speed is so small that a small catapult or even a
really hard .ump could get something or someone to leave the ob.ect forever.
9emember that the escape speed is the speed that the ob.ect must have at the
surface if it is to escape without any other energy input. A rocket must reach
escape speed "calculated for that height# at the point the rocket runs out of fuel
if the rocket is to leave the 0arth entirely, /1T if you had a rocket with some
sort of super fuel, so that the rocket was able to fire essentially continuously,
you would be able to leave the 0arth at a slow steady rate of speed with an
unchanging speed well below escape speed at the surface, moving outward until
eventually it was far enough away from the earth that it would keep drifting
away forever. ,ost rockets unfortunately do not have such fuel, so they must
get as high a velocity as possible for the most efficient escape from the planet.
Mou must also remember that the spacecraft may have escape velocity from
3G7 +ump to Table of (ontents
the 0arth, but not the =un. $n such a case the spacecraft will leave the 0arth, but
usually drift in some kind of orbit around the =un, usually not getting a lot
further away from the =un than the 0arth does. $f it has escape speed from the
=un "at whatever value escape speed is for the distance from the =un that the
craft is#, then it will leave the =olar =ystem entirely, and drift in interstellar
space until eventually falling under some other starIs gravitational influence
thousands or millions of years into the future.
he formula for determining escape speed uses the total potential energy
gain needed to leave the gravitational influence of a body of mass -, if you are
at a distance , from the center of the body. 7t re.uires calculus to accurately
calculate the total potential energy gain needed, but we will give the escape
velocity formula here asC
hus at the $un's surface, the escape speed isC

=

3&.&G3 x %?
%% N m
3
kg
3
%.JJ x%?
7?
kg
&.J& x%?
H
m
but if we calculate the escape speed for the $un at the +arth's orbit using the
radius of the +arth's orbit as it is...
3G< +ump to Table of (ontents
= &.%G x %?
E
m/ s
= &.%Gkm/ s
escape speed =

32,
,

escape speed at +arth's orbit

and we see how the first two rows of able ?5.? are determined%
3GE +ump to Table of (ontents
=

3&.&G3 x %?
%% N m
3
kg
3
%.JJ x%?
7?
kg
%.<J& x%?
%%
m
= <.3% x %?
<
m/ s
= <3.%km/ s
"0."3 8lliptical orbit vs Parabolic Path 1or ProLectiles
-ow letIs take another look at what we calculated in (hapter E.EN showing
that a pro.ectile in the earthIs gravitational field follows the path of a parabola.
This doesnIt sound like an ellipse at all. Mou have to remember that we assumed
in that calculation that the gravitational force was always in exactly the same
direction, or downwardsD $f you look at Figure %?.%& below, you will see that
the gravitational force is actually always toward the center of the earth, and thus
from one side of the path to the other changes direction .ust slightly. This is
technically true even across the laboratory floor, but the lines are so close to
parallel over such a short distance on the surface, the we could not measure how
far they were offD -ormally for pro.ectile motion the difference between a
parabolic path, and the short portion of the true elliptical path is so incredibly
small that we can ignore itN however in the case of long range cannons and
missiles it must be taken into account for accurate targetingD
3G& +ump to Table of (ontents
7f you remember the conic sections in section ?5.E, you will recall that a
parabolic orbit is the boundary between elliptical orbits and hyperbolic ones
that escape the earth's gravitational field entirely. 7t is easy to see that the
elliptical path that the pro2ectile is actually taking is incredibly elongated. 7f it
were much more elongated, then the pro2ectile would not swing past the center
of the earth and return, but would approach a parabolic (almost hyperbolic)
escape orbit.
3GG +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re "0."7 $nset showing how a arabolic tra.ectory "as viewed on the
surface of the 0arth# is actually .ust the short end of an elliptical path.
This is the path that the pro.ectile would follow, if it were moving as
though the entire mass of the 0arth were concentrated at the center of the
0arth, and the 0arthIs surface did not get in the way of the path. The
scale of the inset is not really accurate, because it would be so small on
the 0arth that it would only be a dot on the 0arthIs surface, and wouldnIt
show the Almost arabolic ath, or how the lines showing the
gravitational pull are almost parallelD
Almost
arabolic
ath
2round
2ravity !ownward
arabolic
ath
0arth
2ravity Toward
(enter of 0arth
0lliptical
ath of
ro.ectile
Khapter 66+ Lhat is AressureM
""." o.e Physical )e1initions
The concept of a force was developed in (hapter <, and it is often confused
with pressure, but the two concepts, while related, are actually very different.
First we need to go over several concepts that you should already be very
familiar with, but might need to review.
5ass > *e have used the concept of mass already many times in this textbook.
$t is in general practice "and not at all precisely# defined to be the amount of
stuff that is in an ob.ect. $t is measured in kilograms and in physics is
actually the measurement of the resistance to acceleration by a specific force
"the inertia of an ob.ect#. $t is also defined by its mass "m# for the
gravitational force "m`g# on the ob.ect in the 0arthIs gravitational field, and
for our purposes these two definitions are the same.
+r1ace Area > The surface of an ob.ect or a flat portion of a surface is a
surface area. $t is measured by a length times a length "such as m
3
or cm
3
#. $n
the /ritish system, a surface area is often measured by "ft
3
or in
3
# but this text
will not use these measurements often.
Vol+.e > The amount of space that an ob.ect or 'uantity of mass occupies. $n
many cases we will measure this volume as a cube of length times length
times length, which means that the unit of volume is always a length cubed
"such as m
7
, cm
7
, etc#. A special unit called a liter is actually a cube with a
measure of %? cm by %? cm by %? cm. Thus % m
7
C %??? cm
7
C % liter. *e
will often use a cube or rectangular ob.ect for easy visuali8ation, but the
volume of an ob.ect can be virtually any shapeD
)ensity The density of an ob.ect or fluid or gas is determined by taking a
volume of the ob.ect, fluid, or gas, and then determining the total amount of
mass of contained in that volume and dividing the mass by the volume which
gives the density. $f the mass divided by volume is the same throughout the
ob.ect "or fluid or mass#, then the density is constant for the ob.ect "or fluid or
mass#. !ensity is usually measured in units of kg@m
7
, "or sometimes in
3GH +ump to Table of (ontents
gm@cm
7
#.
Press+re > Force per surface area, with the formula being : =
<
&
. The
units of pressure thus must be the units of force over area or -ewtons per
s'uare meter "-@m
3
#. This unit is used so often, that it has been given its own
name, and is called a pascal "a# after /laise ascal. "The /ritish unit of
pressure is commonly given as pounds per s'uare inch "psi#, /1T since the
study of pressure has come from many different disciplines and investigators,
there are .any different units for pressure that will be discussed later.#
0ven though the above definition is very simple, pressure is considerably
more complicated to really fully understand the concept. Fundamentally,
pressure is the result of trillions of microscopic collisions "in a gas# or steady
pushes "in a li'uid# with the surface area of a solid ob.ect immersed in that gas
or li'uid. $f an ob.ect were out in space far away from the 0arth, there would
be no pressure on it because it would be within a vacuum. 5ikewise, if an
ob.ect is within a vacuum chamber down on earth, it would also have no
pressure on it, because nothing from the vacuum around it is putting a force on
it. $t might perhaps have some pressure by whatever supports it so that it
doesnIt fall, but that will occur only where the supports are contacting the
ob.ect. =ince the microscopic pushes will be at all angles against the surface,
but there are so very many of them acting at once, the sum of these pushes will
add up to be a force acting nor.al to the s+r1ace of the ob.ect "whichever
direction that may be#, so that while the pressure on an ob.ect may produce
forces at the ob.ectIs surface that have direction, press+re itsel1 has no
directionB
3GJ +ump to Table of (ontents
"".! Fl+id <at+re (;ases and &iC+ids$
*hile there can be pressure within solid ob.ects, that is another topic, so
now we are going to study the idea of the pressure on ob.ects that are within a
fluid. A fluid is simply some form of matter that does not have a rigid and
unchanging shape. A fluid will often fill many different containers having the
same volume, but having different shapes. *e need to discuss two different
types of fluids, that have 'uite different properties, but are often confused.
9emember that a fluid simply does not have a fixed shapeD 6ften people get
confused and think of a fluid as a li'uid, but a gas can be a fluid also.
$f a fluid has the property of changing its density significantly when pressure
is increased, then it is usually considered to be a gas. $f you take a balloon
filled with a gas, and put it under increased pressure, then the balloon will
shrink in volume, and the gas inside will decrease in volume and increase in
density. 3e consider this 1l+id to be ?co.pressible@ and 1or this textbook
,ill say that all co.pressible 1l+ids are -ases.
$f a fluid has the property of not changing its density noticeably when the
pressure is increased, then it is usually considered to be a li'uid. $f you take the
same balloon, and fill it with water, and then put it under increased pressure, the
balloon stays the same si8e, and the density of the water inside remains the
same. 3e consider this 1l+id to be ?inco.pressible@ and 1or this textbook
,ill say that all inco.pressible 1l+ids are liC+ids. (7t needs to be noted here
that li.uids really do compress very slightly with increased pressure, the
amount of compression is based upon the bulk modulus, which is a
measurement of the resistance to compression. his amount of compression is
so slight that even at the bottom of the -arianas trench in the :acific #cean
(almost ?? kilometers down and under incredible pressure) the water is only
compressed by a few percent%#
(ompressible and incompressible fluids can be visuali8ed in Figure %%.% below
"if only the molecules were actually big enough to see#.
3H? +ump to Table of (ontents
"".3 Press+re 2han-e ,ith )epth 1or Fl+ids
6ne thing that most people have noticed is that as you go deeper in water,
the pressure starts to increase. Anyone who has gone swimming underwater
and started going down deep in a pool finds that their ears start to hurt from the
pressure and that if they are wearing goggles, the goggles are pressed against
their face by the pressure. 5ets try to understand what is happening. 5etIs
start with the idea of a pig pile. That is when a lot of people pile onto each
other. A physics teacher once did this as a demonstration in a classroom with
four people piled on top of each other. Le then asked the person on the bottom,
are you feeling any pressure nowF. The person on the bottom said in a
3H% +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re ""." (ompressible gas responds to pressure by decreased volume
and increased density, while an incompressible li'uid responds to
pressure by the volume and density remaining "approximately# the
same.
/alloon /alloon under ressure
2o.pressible ?Fl+id@
(-as$
5i'uid in
(ontainer
5i'uid in (ontainer
1nder ressure
*nco.pressible ?Fl+id@
(&iC+id$
slightly strained voice M0=. Le asked the next higher person are Mou
feeling any pressure nowF. That person said Mes, but without as much strain
as the first. Le then asked the second from the top person are Mou feeling any
pressure nowF. That person said yes but without much strain in his voice, so
the teacher asked, do you think that you feel as much pressure as the person on
the bottomF. The second from the top person said -o, $Im pretty sure that $
am not feeling as much pressure as the person on the bottomD. =o now the
teacher asked the person on the top Are you feeling any pressure nowF. The
person on the top said with a great big grin, -ope, $Im not feeling any pressure
at allD
As we learned back with Free /ody !iagrams in (hapter <, when you have
ob.ects stacked up, each ob.ect must support the weight of the ob.ects on top of
it. $n the case of a li'uid such as pure water, the weight of the water above the
ob.ect translates into pressure on the ob.ect. =uppose, for example, you had a
cube of any material, such as wood or steel. $f the cube had an area on each
face of exactly % m
3
, then the weight of the water above the cube would be the
volume of the water above the cube times the density "g# of pure water. =ince
the area of the face of the cube is % m
3
then the total volume of the water
column is going to be % m
3
times the height "h# of the column of water "or how
deep the top of the cube is below the surface#. The pressure on that face of the
cube will thus be:
*hen you cancel the Area of face from top and bottom, you now get .ust:
or purely as symbols "g is water density, g is the gravitational acceleration, and
h is the height of column of water or looking at it another way, the depth of the
ob.ect below the water surface#:
3H3 +ump to Table of (ontents
: = height of column density of water g
: = & g h
: =
Area of face height of column density of water g
Area of face
: =
<
&rea
=
*eight of *ater
&rea
=
Bolume of water column water density g
&rea
This formula would work for any li'uid, when the correct density is substituted,
0R(0T for the fact, that at the top of the li'uid, there is also a column of air
going up all the way into space, due to our atmosphere. This means that the
formulas above need to have added to each of them the
atm
"which is the
atmospheric pressure of at the top of the li'uid#. This leads to one of the
biggest confusions about measuring pressure that exists. =ince we are living
under an ocean of air which is our atmosphere, we must ask if we are
measuring pressure with the atmospheric pressure included or .ust the increase
in pressure 6B09 the atmospheric pressureF $n many cases "like using a
pressure gauge on a tire# we are actually measuring how much ,690 pressure
does the tire have than the normal pressure of the atmosphere. This is often
referred to as ?-a+-e press+re@ for that very reason. $n fact, to find the total
pressure "often referred to as the ?absol+te press+re@ at any point below the
surface of a li'uid, the absolute pressure must have the pressure of the
atmosphere at the top of the li'uid "
atm
# added the e'uation as shown:
0'. %%.%
There are two important things that you should see from this e'uation. The
first is that the depth of the position in the fluid "h for height of the fluid column
above you# is important. The greater this value of h , the greater the pressure
will be. This is very close to a linear relationship for a li'uid such as water.
The second thing to notice is that the density of the fluid is important. $f the
fluid has a higher density, the pressure will be more at the same depth. For
example, if you are exactly ten meters below the surface of a fresh water lake,
then you will experience slightly less pressure than if you were exactly ten
meters below the surface of the ocean, which is salt water and has a slightly
higher density than fresh water. 5ikewise, mercury is a li'uid metal "at room
temperature# with a very high density compared to water "%7.E gm@cm
7
vs %.?
gm@cm
7
#. Thus, you would find that the pressure in a tube of mercury increases
a .+ch greater amount with depth than water. For example if you are about %?
meters below the surface of pure water "similar to a lake# you will experience a
pressure of about 3 atmospheres "% atm for being %? meters below the surface,
3H7 +ump to Table of (ontents
: = & g h + :
atm
and % atm for the atmospheric pressure at the surface#. /ut to get to this same
pressure, you will only need to be ?.G& meters below the surface of a tube of
mercuryD
-ow we shall look at a nitrogen@oxygen mixture of gas known as air. $t has
a much lower density than any li'uid " V ?.??%3 gm@cm
7
or %.3 kg@m
7
at sea
level#. This is about ?.%U the density of water, so that '% the air stayed at this
density all the way up, you would have to have about %? km height of the air
column to give you % atm of pressure at the bottom "which would be the surface
of the earth at sea level#. The $F above is because air is a gas and not a
li'uid. That means that as the pressure drops, when you go to higher and higher
altitudes, the air expands in volume, which means the density steadily goes
down, and the air gets thinner and thinner as you go to higher and higher
altitudes. This can be seen in the graph "Figure %%.3# below, showing what the
pressure would be like if the air acted as a li'uid "incompressible fluid# vs the
way it actually acts as a gas "compressible fluid#.
3H< +ump to Table of (ontents
$f the air acted like a li'uid, then the atmosphere would .ust end abruptly at
3HE +ump to Table of (ontents
Fi-+re "".! This is a 'ualitative graph showing how the pressure
would drop with altitude for a li'uid "incompressible# vs a gas
"compressible#. =ince air is a gas, it follows the exponential curve,
and not the linear one.
% atm ? atm
Press+re (at.$
? km
%? km
%?? km
(ompressible Fluid
"gas#
$ncompressible Fluid
"li'uid#
A
l
t
i
t
+
d
e

(
k
.
$
about %? km altitude. =ince is acts like a gas, as the pressure decreases, the gas
expands and there is always some gas above that point. There is actually no
altitude above the earth that the atmosphere ends. $t .ust keeps getting thinner
and thinner following a complicated exponential graph. ractically speaking, it
is so thin at about %?? km, that it has almost no effect at that height. Thus, it
has been decided that the official limit of the atmosphere, .ust because it is a
nice round number, and there is virtually no effect of air at that altitude, the
atmosphere ends at %?? km and outer space begins there. Thus, in order to be
an astronaut, and to have thus entered space, you have to have ventured further
than %?? km altitude.
7n actual fact there is still a faint trace of air at this altitude of ?55 km, and
if you were in a spacecraft orbiting the +arth at this altitude, there would be
enough drag from the air that you would not complete more than a few orbits
(depending on the spacecraft's size and shape). he drag from the remaining
traces of air would slow you down until your orbit got lower and deeper into
the atmosphere and you fell back to the earth. +ven though it is not enough to
affect orbits of spacecraft or other ob2ects, there are even extremely faint traces
of the +arth's atmospheric gases as far away as the -oon's orbit (which is
hundreds of thousands of kilometers away).
"".# %+oyancy
Archi.edesK PrincipleD Any ob.ect that is immersed in a fluid has a net force
upward on it due to the pressure of the fluid around the ob.ect, that is e'ual to
the weight of the fluid that the ob.ect displaces.
%erno+liKs For.+la and Applications
3H& +ump to Table of (ontents
Khapter 6<+ Lhat are LavesM
"!." Vibrations and =scillations
As a start to the wave concept, we need to discuss the idea of an ob.ect
vibrating. This is also sometime called vibrational motion or oscillation, and is
one of the < types of motion that $ listed in (hapter 7. Bibrational motion
means that the ob.ect tends to repeat its motion as time goes forward. That
means that the ob.ect "or sometimes parts of the ob.ect# will move in one
direction and then in another direction until they come back to the same
position that they were located at, at some previous time. This type of motion
occurs often, with some examples being a weight on the end of a spring, a child
swinging back and forth on a swing at the park, the vibrating string on a guitar
after it has been plucked, your heart beating inside your body, or being on a
boat being rocked up)and)down, up)and)down, up)and)down......oopsD
$ am going to start with two examples the will help understand oscillatory
motion, and especially the special kind of oscillatory motion called si.ple
har.onic .otion "=L,#. This will be shown in Figure %3.% below. 6n the
left side of the figure a mass is attached to the spring. $f the mass is pulled
down and released, it will oscillate up and down with simple harmonic motion.
This turns out mathematically to be the same vertical position as the vertical
position of a peg on a rotating wheel "shown on the right# where the rotation is
at a constant rotational speed, if the spring is pulled as far down as the peg can
go at the time of release, and the period of oscillation is the same for both cases.
The period of oscillation for the mass on the spring is the time it takes to
make and entire up and down motion. This time can be the time from the
bottom to the bottom again, or from the top to the top again, or from the middle
to the middle again "i1 the direction o1 .otion is the sa.e#D Thus if the mass
is moving up the period of oscillation will not be when the mass is back at the
middle "going downward#, but later when it has returned to the middle but is
moving upward. For the peg on the rotating wheel, the period of oscillation is
the time it takes the peg to make one full revolution about the circle as the
wheel rotates.
3HG +ump to Table of (ontents
*e can pretty much understand why the peg keeps moving up and down
since it is attached to the wheel, but most people havenIt really thought about
the mass on the spring very much. *e will look at three positions for the mass
on the spring and do a free body diagram for each position.
3HH +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re "!." 6n the right we see a mass . moving up and down with
oscillatory motion, while on the left we see a peg on a wheel rotating
and showing a vertical motion "Ax#, which is identical to the vertical
location of the mass on the right.
(eiling
m
0'uilibrium
Ax Ax
center
=pring
3HJ +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re "!.! Lere we see three positions of the mass hanging from the
spring above, compared to the e'uilibrium position. This illustrates
Lookes 5aw, F C > k Ax, meaning that the force on the mass is e'ual
to a spring constant k that depends on the spring itself, and the
displacement from e'uilibrium, and is in the direction of e'ualibrium.
m
0'uilibrium
-eg Ax
m
m
os Ax
m
m m
F
t

by =pring
on ,ass
F
Total F
Total
F
Total
F
t

by =pring
on ,ass
F
t

by =pring
on ,ass
F
g
by 0arth
?n ,ass
F
g
by 0arth
?n ,ass
F
g
by 0arth
?n ,ass
"!.! The 3ave 2oncept
,ost people have a pretty good concept of what a wave is "or at least think
that they do#, until you try to pin them down on exactly what it is that they are
talking about, and then they get a lot less clear. For example, at some sporting
events in big stadiums an event occurs in the stands among the spectators that is
sometimes called a *ave. This occurs when in a long line or chain of
spectators, one person raises his arms, and then lowers them, while the person
next to him raises his arms a little later "taking his cue from watching the arms
of the person next to him@her# and the next person does the same, and so on.
This produces a view from the other side of the stadium as though a wave of
arms was flowing in one direction. This is illustrated by Figure %3.3 which is
showing the phenomenon at five different times:
3J? +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re "!." A line of spectators at a sporting event producing a wave, with
an arrow above the wave peak and showing the direction of the motion.
T C 3 s
T C 7 s
T C < s
T C % s
T C ? s
From Figure %3.3 above, we can see that there seem to be two things
changing. As we go vertically down the Figure, the time is changing, and as we
go to the right across the figure, the position of the wave peak "the person
with his hands raised fully over his head# is changing. That is part of what
makes a wave phenomenon so difficult to understand and visuali8e. $t is
constantly changing both position and time for all its parts.
Two things are fairly clear about this spectator wave. The first is that no
spectator actually moves from one end of the line of spectators to the other end.
-o actual ob.ect moves from one end of the line to the other. That is a very
important point. $f the spectator at one end of the line were to throw a ball from
one end of the line to the other, we would have ordinary translational motion of
an ob.ect the ball from one position to another during a period of time.
$nstead, the disturbance "in this case the raising and lowering of the arms# is
what is traveling or moving along the line, with no ob.ect actually moving from
one end of the line to the other.
-ow one of the ma.or aspect of the nature of waves needs to be clarified. $n
the spectator wave above, the disturbance motion is not actually caused by a
physical effect of the neighboring spectator, but rather by simply viewing what
the neighborIs hands are doing. $n most cases of an actual wave, there is a pull
or push "some kind of force# by the neighboring particle and some sort of
restoring force that moves the particleIs position back to its original position as
the wave passes by. The actual motion of the wave, even though usually not
causing any material ob.ect to move along with the wave for any length of time,
does cause something to move along with the wave. That something is energy.
0nergy normally moves along with the wave, but the form of the energy is
dictated by the type of wave and material that the wave is passing through. The
energy can often be kinetic and potential "such as a wave on a spring discussed
in the next section#, where each particle element may be moving "kinetic
energy# and stretching "potential energy# as the wave passes by. $n the case of a
wave on a spring, since both of these effects on the particle elements occur as
the wave is moving, the energy associated with the wave will move along with
the wave. 0ven though the types of energy may change, this aspect that the
energy of the wave does move along with the wave, even though individual
elements of the material don8t move along with the wave, is an important
aspect of a wave being classified as a waveD
3J% +ump to Table of (ontents
"!.! Transverse vs &on-it+dinal 3aves
5etIs look at an example of a one)dimensional wave pulse of the sort
typically described in a physics class. $n this case we will look at a long
spring that has been stretched out between two points. This spring is either very
strong so that it doesnIt sag noticeably, or can be laid out on the ground. *e
will discuss the difference between a wave pulse and a continuous wave in the
next section, but for now, .ust consider it a single disturbance of some type
which we will call a wave pulse that is moving down a spring. $f we send a
wave pulse down this spring, it will continue to move down the spring steadily.
$f there are no energy losses in the spring "similar to the idea of a frictionless
surface# then the pulse should remain the same si8e@shape until it reaches the
end of the spring, where it will reflect back "see later section#. *hile the idea
pulse moving down a spring with absolutely no energy losses is pretty much
impossible to achieve in practice, a pulse moving down a spring with
negligible energy losses is possible to achieve by keeping the energy losses very
small while the wave pulse travels down the spring.
=prings can actually support two modes or types of wave pulses. !ue to this
fact, there are actually two different ways to produce a wave pulse "or
disturbance# that will travel or propagate down the spring. These two different
types of wave pulses are called transverse and longitudinal wave pulses. They
are shown in Figure %3.3 below, along with the direction of the shake re'uired
to start the pulse:
3J3 +ump to Table of (ontents
$n the top portion of Figure %3.3, the spring is shaken sharply in the direction
perpendicular to the direction that the pulse travels down the spring "upward in
the figure as shown#. 5etIs take a look at the individual spring elements
"suppose you added a dot of paint to one coil of the spring, and thought of this
as a spring element#. -o spring element or part of the spring actually moves
from one end of the spring to the other, but the disturbance of the pulse will
move from one end of the spring to the otherD *hile the pulse is moving by,
however, the spring elements will move perpendicular to the direction that the
pulse is moving. This is called a transverse pulse since the particle elements
move perpendicular to the direction the pulse is moving.
$n the bottom portion of Figure %3.3, the spring is shaken sharply in the
3J7 +ump to Table of (ontents

Fi-+re "!.! Two ways of shaking a spring to produce a wave pulse
or disturbance down the spring. The top shows a transverse pulse and
the bottom shows a longitudinal pulse.
Transverse P+lse
!irection of
ulse ,otion
&on-it+dinal P+lse
article motion
!irection of
ulse ,otion
article motion
=tarting
=hake
=tarting
=hake
direction parallel to the direction that the pulse travels down the spring "to the
right in the Figure shown#. This doesnIt work well with all springs, but a
special kind of toy spring called a slinky supports this kind of wave pulse
very well. $n this case, the wave pulse is called a longitudinal pulse since the
particle elements are moving parallel to the direction that the pulse is moving.
This is also sometimes called a compression wave since the individual spring
elements are compressed together "and then relax back to the original spacing#
as the wave pulse propagates through the medium. Bery few springs will
support both kinds of waves e'ually. 1sually a spring will support one of these
kinds of waves really well. *hile the other kind of wave can exist, it will lose
energy so rapidly that it does not really look like the wave pulse is being
supported. For the more standard springs, the transverse wave pulse is better
supported, but for the slinky toy types of springs, the longitudinal wave pulse
is better supported. -ever)the)less, each spring will support both kinds of wave
pulse.
(ollectively, all of the particle or fluid elements that actually do the moving
are called the .edi+. that the wave is waving or moving through, even
though none of these particle elements actually travels from one location to
another location permanently. They .ust tend to oscillate while the wave is
moving through them, and come to rest at their original position after the wave
has moved through them. The medium for all mechanical waves is necessary
for the wave to keep moving, and if there is no medium, then there is no wave.
$n physics, we usually say the wave is propagating through the medium when
this is occurring. This is much like the hands moving up and down in the
sporting event wave discussed in figure %3.%, except in this case the spring
elements are being pulled up and down by their attachments to their
neighboring spring elements rather than by the spectators timing when to
move their arms.
There are very many different kinds of waves that exist in the physical
world. *aves in a spring or stretched string are used in most musical
instruments. =ound moves through the air "and many other forms of matter like
water, steel, earth, etc# as longitudinal waves. =urface waves exist from simple
ripples on a pondIs surface to large ocean waves propagate along the surface of
a fluid like water. These are all mechanical waves that depend upon the
medium to propagate, and the speed and other characteristics of the wave
3J< +ump to Table of (ontents
propagation depend upon the medium itself. At a later time we will discuss the
concept of waves that do not re'uire a medium for their propagation, primarily
the concept of electromagnetic waves or lightD
"!.3 The 3ave P+lse vs 2ontin+o+s 3ave
"!.# &a, o1 &inear +perposition or *nter1erence
"!.6 3ave Pheno.enon
3JE +ump to Table of (ontents
Khapter 6/+ Lhat is (oundM
Khapter 6:+ Lhat is 9ight "and The 1lectromagnetic (pectrum$M
Khapter 6;+ Lhat is #ptics "ays and 9enses$M
Khapter 60+ Lhat is #ptics "Laves and 'nterference$M
Khapter 63+ Lhat is #ptics "#ptical 'nstruments 7 #ld and New$M
Khapter 64+ Lhat is 1lectricityM
Khapter 65+ Lhat is MagnetismM
Khapter <0+ Lhat is (pecial elativityM
3J& +ump to Table of (ontents
Appendix A - Physical 2onstants and 2onversions
2ravitational (onstant : ; C &.&G3 x %?
)%%

N m
3
kg
3
gravitational acceleration at 0arthIs surface : - C J.H% m@s
3
at <E
o
latitude
=peed of 5ight : c C 3.JJH x %?
H
m@s
=peed of =ound in air C 7<7 m@s h "% Atm., 3?
o
(#
% in. C 3.E< cm "now by definition#
% gal"1.=.# C 7.GHE 5
% k*)hr C 7.& x %?
&
+
3JG +ump to Table of (ontents
Appendix % o.e /se1+l )ata
Astrono.ical )ata
0arth mass C E.JH x %?
3<
kg
0arth radius C &.7G x %?
&
m
0arth orbit radius C %.<J& x %?
H
km C %.<J& x %?
%%
m
=un mass C %.JJ x %?
7?
kg
=un radius C &.J& x %?
H
m
8ner-y )ata
2asoline: % C 7< ,+
3JH +ump to Table of (ontents