Visual Quantum Mechanics

Prepared for Contemporary Physics by Dean Zollman, Wally Axmann, Bob Grabhorn, Carol Regehr, and Paul Donovan Spring, 1994
From Kansas State University:http://bluegiant.phys.ksu.edu/dvi/vqm/vqm.html

Visual Quantum Mechanics: Table of Contents

Appendix: Newton's Laws

Newton's Laws are three simple laws of motion developed by Isaac Newton in the late seventeenth century. As a group, they provide a single theory with which to explain an enormous range of observations.

  1. When the net, or total, force acting on an object is zero, the object's momentum does not change. In other words, there is no acceleration (change in velocity).
  2. The net force acting on an object is equal to the product of the object's mass and its acceleration. This relationship can also be expressed by the following equation:

    Net force = mass × acceleration.

  3. Every applied force results in a reaction force on the applier. This reaction force is equal in magnitude but opposite in direction to the applied force. For isolated objects, the consequence of this is conservation of momentum: the momentum of the applier changes in an equal and opposite manner to that of the appliee.

Visual Quantum Mechanics: Table of Contents