laws of motion
Physics' foundational rules
The laws of motion are fundamental principles describing how objects move and respond to forces.
Most commonly, the term refers to Newton's three laws: an object at rest stays at rest unless acted upon; force equals mass times acceleration; every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
These form the foundation of classical mechanics.
The laws of motion explain why a seatbelt saves lives in a crash.
- massQuantity of matter
- inertiaResistance to altered motion
- at restMotionless, unmoving
- second lawEntropy inevitably rises
- frictionResistance between touching surfaces
acceleration · dynamics · torque · momentum · gravity · kinematics · action · classical mechanics · impulse · Newtonian mechanics · Isaac Newton · Newton's cradle · net force · third law · velocity · calculus · drag · free fall
- classical physicsNewton, Newtonian physics, force, gravity, inertia
- mechanicsforce, turning, rotation, momentum, velocity
- Keplersecond law, third law, eccentricity
- mechanismmechanism, clockwork universe, Newtonian mechanics, classical mechanics, automata
laws of motionlaws of thermodynamics
Fundamental energy behavior principles
thermodynamics · electromagnetism · quantum mechanics · general relativity · special relativity
laws of motionchaos
Complete disorder and confusion
randomness · entropy · indeterminacy · unpredictability · disorder