Lecture-III
Kinetics-Newton’s laws of motion
A recapitulation
A few definitions:
Kinetics: study of motion of a particle under a force field.
• Motion: Change of relative position of a particle in space in course of time. The
change in position and time can be measured with a scale and clock respectively.
• Particle: A point mass object. A body having some mass has negligible dimension
in comparison to other length scales present in the system. However, a point
mass is a mathematical idealization. A few examples:
– The earth revolving around the sun can be treated as particles. Because the radius of
either the earth or the sun is much less than the separation between them.
– A rigid body on the surface of the earth.
– A gas molecule in a container.
• What about an electron in an atom? ---Quantum effects come into play---Need of a new
mechanics?
• Reference frame: With respect to which the position has to be measured. May be a rigidly
fixed rigid body. A rigid body is a body in which the distance between any two particles
remain unchanged in time.
• If the particle velocity is ≈c, the speed of light? ----Relativistic mechanics.
Motion of point objects in the classical and non-relativistic regime is described by :
-- Newton’s laws of motion
Newton’s first law of motion:
Every body continues in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a straight line,
unless it is compelled to change that state by applying external forces upon it.
What does this law do? 1. Gives a definition of zero force, 2. Defines an inertial frame.
Zero force: When a body moves with constant velocity in a straight
line, either there are no
forces present or the net force acting on the body is zero ∑ Fi = 0 . If the body changes its
i
velocity, then there must be an acceleration, and hence a total non-zero force must be
present. Velocity can change due to change in its magnitude or due to change in its direction
or change in both.
Inertial frame: If the relative velocity between the two reference frames is constant, then the
relative acceleration between the two reference frames is zero, and the reference
frames are considered to be inertial reference frames. The inertial frame is then simply a frame
of reference in which the first law holds.
S’
S dR
r r' r ' = r − vt , v = Galilean transformation
dt
R
The first law does not hold in an arbitrary frame. For example, it fails in the frame of a rotating
turntable.
Is Earth an inertial frame?
Newton’s second law of motion:
The change of motion of a body is proportional to the applied force and is made in the
direction of the force applied.
If any force generates a change of motion, a double force will generate double change in the
motion, a triple force correspond to triple change in the motion, whether that force is
impressed altogether and at once or gradually and successively.
Change of motion is described by the change in momentum of body. For a point mass particle,
the momentum is defined as p = mv
Suppose that a force is applied to a body for a time interval ∆t . The impressed force or impulse
produces a change in the momentum of the body,
The instantaneous action of the total force acting on a body at a time t is defining by taking the
mathematical limit as the time interval ∆t becomes smaller and smaller,
total d
dv
m1 F = ( mv ) = m
F m1a1 m1 a2
dt dt
=
m2 a1 Inertial mass
m2 a2
F Inertial mass ≡ Gravitational mass
m2
Newton’s third law of motion:
To every action there is always an opposed and equal reaction, or, the mutual action
of two bodies upon each other are always equal, and directed in opposite directions.
Consider two bodies engaged in a mutual interaction. Label the bodies 1 and 2
respectively.
Let F1,2 be the force on body 1 due to the interaction with body 2, and
F2,1 be the force on body 2 due to the interaction with body 1.
Note: When two objects interact, they each exert the same magnitude of force on
each other. mm
Gravitational force: F12 = −G 1 2 2 rˆ12 rˆ12 = − rˆ21
r
Force is due to interaction! qq
Coulomb force: F12 = k 1 2 2 rˆ12 F12 = − F21
r
No interaction Isolated body No force No acceleration
If the acceleration of a body is the result of an outside force, then somewhere in the
universe there must be an equal and opposite force acting on another body. The
interaction may be a complicated one, but as long as the forces are equal and
opposite, Newton's laws are satisfied.
Application of Newton’s laws:
Prescription:
Step 1: Divide a composite system into smaller systems each of which can be treated
as a point mass.
Step 2: Draw free body force diagrams for each point mass.
Step 3: Introduce a coordinate system, the inertial frame, and write the equations of
motion.
Step 4: If two bodies in the same system interact, the forces between them must be
equal and opposite (3rd law).
Step 5: Motion of a body may be constrained to move along certain path or plane.
Express each constraint by a kinematical equation called constraint equation.
Step 6: Identify the number of unknown quantities. There must be enough number of
equations ( Equations of motion + third law pairs + constraint equations) to solve for
all the unknown quantities.
Example 1:
A horizontal frictionless table has a small hole in its center. Block A on the table is
connected to block B hanging beneath by a string of negligible mass which passes
through the hole. Initially, B is held stationary and A rotates at constant radius ro with
steady angular velocity ω0. If B is released at t = 0, what is its acceleration immediately
afterward?
Two movable bodies and their free body diagrams:
Cylindrical polar coordinate system.
Equations of motion:
Constraint equations:
Unknowns: ar , aθ ,
z, T Four unknowns and four equations.
Example 2:
Determine the acceleration vectors of all mobile bodies in the following situation
which are always in contact. All surfaces are frictionless, pulley is massless, and the
string of length L is massless and inextensible.
m1
F
m2
M
Three mobile bodies and free body diagrams:
T
T F
T
m2
Fm2 M
m1 FMm2 M
m2 g
Specification of coordinates:
x
x m1
x1 y
F m2
M
y x2
Equations of motion:
m1a1x = T F − T − FMm2 = Max Fm2 M = m2 a2 x
m2 g − T = m2 a2 y
3rd law of motion: FMm2 = Fm2 M
Constraint equations: x = x2 ⇒ a x = a2 x
x − x1 + y = L ⇒ ax − a1x + a2 y = 0
Unknowns: T , F1 , F2 , ax , a1x , a2 x , a2 y
There are seven equations and seven unknowns.
Accelerations:
m2 F + ( M + m2 ) g
a1x =
( M + m2 )( m1 + m2 ) + m1m2
F ( m1 + m2 ) − m1m2 g
ax = a2 x =
( M + m2 )( m1 + m2 ) + m1m2
m2 ( M + m1 + m2 ) g − m2 F
a2 y =
( M + m2 )( m1 + m2 ) + m1m2
