Eli5 Why is force equal to mass multiplied by acceleration and not speed ?

Question

If a car moves consistently at 80 kmh and it weighs at 600kg, is it not generating any force? since you know, a=0, am I stupid or is Newton ?

In: 13

Answer 1

The concept of energy and the one of impulse have an intertwined history. At some point physicists debated this same question. Dead Force and Living Force were terms used to describe them. Newton and Descartes/Leibnitz where in one of those two “camps”.

This is a **great** video with historical explanation of those two terms, and their relation with the First Law of Thermodynamics:

[https://youtu.be/a9c7u-FM-Wc](https://youtu.be/a9c7u-FM-Wc)