Motion, Force and Energy

Motion

In physics, motion means a constant change in the location of a body. Change in motion is the result of applied force. Motion is typically described in terms of velocity, acceleration, displacement, and time. An object's velocity cannot change unless it is acted upon by a force, as described by Newton's first law. An object's momentum is directly related to the object's mass and velocity, and the total momentum of all objects in a closed system (one not affected by external forces) does not change with time, as described by the law of conservation of momentum. A body which does not move is said to be at rest, motionless, immobile, stationary, or to have constant (time-invariant) position.Motion is always observed and measured relative to a frame of reference. As there is no absolute reference frame, absolute motion cannot be determined; this is emphasised by the term relative motion. A body which is motionless relative to a given reference frame, moves relative to infinitely many other frames. Thus, everything in the universe is moving.

Force

In physics, a force is that which can cause an object with mass to accelerate. Force has both magnitude and direction, making it a vector quantity. According to Newton's second law, an object with constant mass will accelerate in proportion to the net force acting upon it and in inverse proportion to its mass. An equivalent formulation is that the net force on an object is equal to the rate of change of momentum it experiences. Forces acting on three-dimensional objects may also cause them to rotate or deform, or result in a change in pressure. The tendency of a force to cause angular acceleration about an axis is termed torque. Deformation and pressure are the result of stress forces within an object.

Energy

Energy is a scalar physical quantity, an attribute of objects and systems that is conserved in nature. In physics textbooks energy is often defined as the ability to do work or to generate heat. Several different forms of energy exist to explain all known natural phenomena. These forms include (but are not limited to) kinetic, potential, thermal, gravitational, sound, light, elastic, and electromagnetic energy. While one form of energy may be transformed to another, the total energy remains the same. This principle, the conservation of energy, was first postulated in the early 19th century, and applies to any isolated system. According to Noether's theorem, the conservation of energy is a consequence of the fact that the laws of physics do not change over time. Although the total energy of a system does not change with time, its value may depend on the frame of reference. For example, a seated passenger in a moving airplane has zero kinetic energy relative to the airplane, but non-zero kinetic energy relative to the earth.

Inspired by a visit to the MIT Museum in Boston.

See: Motion, Force, Energy.