We live and constantly interact with different objects outside ourselves. For example, while reading this article, maybe you picked up the phone on the coffee table and touched something on the screen or pulled the computer in front of you and clicked a few mouse clicks. All of these are actually strengths. Force, which is one of the important subjects of physics, forms the basis of our daily life.
Of course, force is a very comprehensive and deeply detailed subject, but we still encounter it in every moment of our daily lives. We have to meet anyway, because according to the first of Newton’s laws, if we don’t apply a force to an object, it will just sit there idly. Let’s leave the boring details of the subject and let’s take a closer look at what is force, its types and features in its purest form.
Let’s start with a basic definition; What is force?
According to physics, force is an effect that changes the state of motion of an object with its own mass. The force has a direction such as a push or a pull and has its own vector magnitude. Newton is denoted by the symbol N or the symbol F.
In terms of mechanics, force is an action to maintain the motion of an object, change its motion, or disrupt its current motion. Depending on the magnitude of the force, sometimes only the motion of the object is distorted, and sometimes its shape is distorted. Either way, force means change and movement.
The definition of force was made by Newton’s laws:
English physicist Isaac Newton determined three basic principles about force in his work called Principia Mathematica, which he wrote in 1687. According to the first principle, an object stays as it is until any force is applied to it.
According to the second principle, when an object is under the influence of an external force, the change in velocity, that is, the magnitude of acceleration, is directly proportional to the force received by the object. According to the third principle, if an object exerts a force on another object, both objects exert an equal force on each other. This third rule, known as the impulse-response principle, explains that objects tend to deform regardless of motion.
We can examine the force under two separate headings:
- contact force
- non-contact force
Force requiring contact:
The situation in which two objects come into contact with each other and exert force is defined as a contact force. In daily life, we encounter it as pushing or pulling. There are many examples from daily life such as pushing or pulling the glass on the table, walking, pulling the box in the back of the truck, hitting the ball, moving the elevator.
Forces that require contact include pulling force, air drag force, friction force, steam force, muscular force, buoyancy force, and wind force. Most of the mechanical tools around us that we use every day work according to the principles of contact forces.
Non-contact force:
Non-contact force, also known as field force, is when two bodies exert force without touching each other. The repulsion and attraction of magnets is the biggest example of this. An example of a non-contact force is that a glass you drop from your hand falls to the ground under the influence of gravity or your hair gets electrified while taking off your sweater.
There are four basic non-contact forces in nature:
- gravitational force
- electromagnetic force
- strong core strength
- weak core strength
Gravity Force:
According to the basic rule of gravitational force, also known as the gravitational force, an object with mass does not always repel another object with mass, but always attracts. The force between the two objects is in the opposite direction. The domain is considered infinite. Its area of influence is small compared to other forces, but the force increases as the mass of the objects increases. The rotation of planets around the Sun or the fall of a fruit from a tree are examples of gravity.
Electromagnetic force:
When the electric and magnetic force combine, the electromagnetic force emerges. Objects repel or attract each other due to electric force. The force between protons and electrons is also considered the electric force. The mass is much greater than the gravitational force. Since the field of action is infinite, electric force of varying intensity occurs no matter how far two objects are from each other.
Strong core strength:
We see the effect of the strong nuclear force, which is considered to be the strongest among the forces, on protons. Since the same-pole protons in the atomic nucleus are very close to each other, they should have repulsed each other according to the electric force. However, because the force of the atomic nucleus is even higher than the electric force, the protons are together.
Weak core strength:
Although there are only protons and neutrons in the nucleus of the atom, the reason why it emits electrons and positrons is the weak nuclear force. Thanks to this force, the nucleus is unstable and protons and neutrons can turn into other particles. The weak nuclear force has a very short range of influence.
How to calculate force with formula?
- Step #1: Force = Mass x Acceleration so F = m . a
- Step #2: Make sure all values are in the same unit.
- Step #3: Find the mass by dividing the Newton weight by 9.8.
- Step #4: Substitute the values in the formula.
- Step #5: You’re done.
Here are the formula you need to apply and the steps you need to follow to calculate the force. Of course, it may be necessary to use more advanced versions of this formula when performing different operations belonging to different disciplines, but this method is very useful for finding forces in basic physics.
Is force vector or scalar?
Because force has a direction and a magnitude, it is vectorial, not scalar. Scalar, defined as a simple physical structure, is a property that does not change or simply has no direction in cases such as a change in Newtonian mechanics, a Lorentz transform, a transformation in space-time relativity. Force, on the other hand, is vectorial in terms of direction and direction.
We answered the question of what is force, which is one of the most fundamental subjects of physics and our daily life, and talked about the details you need to know about its types and properties. Since the force is like an ocean that we can easily drown when we dive into it, we aimed to provide only a basic information in this article.