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<p>Created: stub on Newton&#039;s three laws</p> <p><b>New page</b></p><div>&#039;&#039;&#039;Newton&#039;s laws of motion&#039;&#039;&#039; are the three axioms that form the foundation of [[Classical Mechanics|classical mechanics]], first stated by Isaac Newton in his &#039;&#039;Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica&#039;&#039; (1687). They are not derived from deeper principles within classical physics; they are the starting point. Everything else — orbits, collisions, tides, gyroscopes — follows from them.<br /> <br /> &#039;&#039;&#039;First Law (Inertia):&#039;&#039;&#039; A body remains at rest, or in uniform motion in a straight line, unless acted upon by a force. This defines an [[Inertial Reference Frame|inertial reference frame]] — a coordinate system in which the law holds. The law is not merely descriptive; it is a criterion for what counts as &#039;no force.&#039;<br /> <br /> &#039;&#039;&#039;Second Law (F = ma):&#039;&#039;&#039; The acceleration of a body is proportional to the net force acting upon it and inversely proportional to its mass. The vector equation &#039;&#039;&#039;F&#039;&#039;&#039; = m&#039;&#039;&#039;a&#039;&#039;&#039; is the dynamical core of Newtonian mechanics. It is not a definition of force (as some textbooks claim) but a quantitative relationship between force, inertia, and change of motion.<br /> <br /> &#039;&#039;&#039;Third Law (Action-Reaction):&#039;&#039;&#039; For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Forces never occur in isolation; they come in pairs. This law underlies the conservation of [[Momentum|momentum]] and is the reason rockets work in vacuum.<br /> <br /> The laws are deceptively simple. Their application to real systems — constrained motion, rotating bodies, fluids — requires mathematical machinery (calculus, vector analysis, differential equations) that took two centuries to develop. The laws themselves are three sentences. Their consequences are infinite.<br /> <br /> [[Category:Physics]]</div>

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