So, from what I understand, Newton’s third law says that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
I’m having a very hard time wrapping my head around it, as it seems as though if his law worked the way I interprete it to, pushing an object or denting an object would be impossible.
For example,
If someone were to push a book on a table, the force they applied on the book to push it, should be countered by an equal and opposite reaction force, therefore not allowing them to move the book.
In another example, if someone were to push a piece of metal, there should be an equal and opposite reaction force (normal contact force?) which would not allow the person to move the metal (can’t dent it), no matter how much force they use.
I guess what I would like to know would be why this is not the case in the two above examples, and what is it that I am not interpreting correctly with Newton’s third law.
Thank you!!
In: Physics
Think about what the universe would be like if this WASN’T the case.
I would be able to take a car door, punch it with all my strength to dent it, and my hand will not get injured or even feel a thing because Netwon’s third law no longer applied.
I’d be able to take a flimsy piece of wood and hit a brick wall with it with all my strength but the flimsy piece of wood would not break because Newton’s third law no longer applied.
The two situations above, are of course, not the case in this universe. My hand would most likely be broken, and the flimsy piece of wood would break against the wall because Newton’s third law DOES exist. You can’t exert a force on something without that something exerting a force on you.
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