A crucial part of science is physics, and a crucial part of physics is the study of force and how things react when applied force. While we may think of force as a simple act of putting effort into pushing something, there is much more involved in the actual process.
Today, we will learn about the different force types in physics and mechanics.
What is mechanics?
The application of science deals with the motion of bodies under some action, the forces acting on it, counting the uncommon cases in which the body rests. The study of gravity, electricity, and mechanism are the topics that are covered in mechanics.
The mechanics are divided into the following branches:
- Statistics: dealing with forces acting on and in the body at rest.
- Kinematics: dealing with all the possible motions of a body
- Kinetics: dealing with the explanation of the notion which would happen in a given situation.
The study of the above three mentioned branches involves the study of a particular force applied to a body, so we should understand the concept of force moving further.
What is force?
A push or a pull upon an object getting it from its interaction with the other object is termed as a force. When there is an interaction between two objects, a force is generated upon both objects. It is also observed that whenever objects are placed apart, the force decreases. The existence of force is only observed when there is an interaction among the objects.
A force is known to be a vector quantity, and by vector quantity, we mean that it possesses magnitude and direction. To completely understand the force acting on the object, we must know its magnitude and direction, both in size or in numeral value. So to suggest that the object has a force of 25 Newton (N) affecting it is not an entire description but 25 Newton upwards is the complete description of the force that acts on that particular body, as both the magnitude and direction have been well mentioned.
As force is a vector quantity having a direction, it is usual to act for forces that use the diagrams in which forces are designated using arrows. The size of the given arrow reflects the magnitude of the force. It also reflects the direction of the arrow that depicts the direction upon which the force is exerted.
Force being a quantity is measured using the standard metric unit called Newton. The symbol to denote Newton is (N). The force required to produce an acceleration of 1 m/s/s for a mass of 1 kg is termed Newton. The abbreviation of newton is ‘N’. it can be stated that 1 Newton equals 1kg x m/s2.
Types of Force
The types of force that can commonly be observed in mechanics are:
- Contact force
- Non-contact force
- Spring force
- Frictional force
- Tension force
Now describing the above forces in brief:
- Contact force:
Any force which requires contact between two objects is termed the contact force. They are ubiquitous and are in charge of almost all noticeable interactions among macroscopic collections of matter. The push applied to a bike for climbing up a hill or a ball kicked in a wide field is the most common example where contact forces are at work.
The difference between the above examples is that in the first case, a continuous force is applied in the bike to move up the hill and in the second case, a sudden force is applied in a short period. Further decomposition of contact forces into orthogonal components is done. The force perpendicular to the surface in contact is termed normal force, and the force parallel to the surface in contact is called friction force.
- Non-contact force:
A force acting on a body without coming in physical contact with the body is termed a non-contact force. In simpler terms, a non-contact force is a force that is exerted without the body coming in contact with any other body. Gravity is the most common example of the non-contact force as it consults weight.
The force attraction, called gravity, which exists in all bodies that possess mass, is an example of non-contact force. The force which leads to the interaction between the electrically charged particles is termed electromagnetism. The area where electromagnetism occurs is called the electromagnetic field.
The common examples of this are electricity, radio waves, magnetism, microwaves, x-rays, infrared, visible light, and gamma rays. Electromagnetism moderated all biological, electronic, electrical, and chemical processes. The strong nuclear force that consists of a short distance that will take place between the fundamental particles along with a nucleus is termed as the strong nuclear force. It is the independent charge acting equally between the following
- a proton and the other proton,
- a neutron and the other neutron
- a proton and a neutron.
The last one is the strongest. The weak nuclear forces facilitate the decay of a neutron. The neutron decays into a proton, resulting in particles and neutrino, which are the uncharged particles. The decay process of the weak nuclear force plays a significant role within supernovas. Quantum mechanics is a vital place for both the weak and strong forces. In the example of a non-contact force, However, the Casimir effect can also be considered.
- Spring force:
During the stretching or compressing of a metal spring, it gets displaced from its equilibrium position, resulting in it experiencing a restoring force which tends to retract the spring back to its original position. This is termed the spring force. Elastic materials tend to possess spring force.
The formula for spring force is given by:
F = k (x – x0)
Where,
F represents spring force
x0 is its equilibrium position
x is the displacement of spring from its original position
k is the constant for spring
The negative sign indicates that the observed spring force is a restoring force acting in the opposite direction. The negative sign tells that the visualized spring force is a restoring force and acts opposite.
- Frictional force:
The force produced by two surfaces that come in contact and slide against one another is termed frictional forces. The quantity of force required to keep them together and the texture of the surface highly affect the frictional force. The volume of frictional force is affected by the angle and position of the object.
- Tension Force:
The force generated when a load is applied at one or more ends of material in a directional direction, normally to the cross-section of that material, is termed a tension force.
Conclusion
In this way, there are many kinds and factors related to forces that need to be considered. Explore it in greater detail by identifying and evaluating each type individually.