The English genius Isaac Newton lived on the border of the 17th and 18th centuries. It was during this period that Western civilization began to emerge. A significant role in this belongs to Newton. His three famous laws formed the basis of classical mechanics. This is especially true of Newton's first law. The inertial system of looking at movement has changed all ideas about mechanics. The world has become different, more understandable. Science and production received a great impetus to accelerate.
Basic concepts
Before the discovery of the Englishman, it was assumed: that the body should move, force must be applied to it. Otherwise, it just stops. The thinker of the end of the 17th century threw away all prejudices and suggested constructing a speculative model of the world in which foreign forces do not act on the bodies, and their structure is ideal.
To this he was brought by the work of Galileo Galilei. The movement of cosmic bodies almost never ceases. Nothing prevents them from moving in an airless space.
Newton's first law was born, which is formulated as follows:
"Without the action of external forces, or if the action of these forces is equal, the body moves uniformly and rectilinearly."
The idea of ​​the world turned upside down. A new science was born - dynamics.
Concept of inertia
The statement that force must be applied to change the speed of movement led to the emergence of a new concept - inertia.
One of the fundamental properties of matter got its name. If we turn to the Latin meaning of the word inertia, then it will mean - "inertia" and "inaction". In other words, the state of the system can only be changed by the influence of external forces. A scientific definition has appeared: power is the cause of a change in the state of the body.
The third consequence of Newton’s first law was the concept of acceleration, which describes the change in speed.
Examples of solving problems
Let’s try, using the concepts of Newton’s first law, to solve several problems.
The task. What forces act on the airship during: a) its movement in the air; b) when you are at the airport?
Answer: a) the attraction of the earth is compensated by the buoyancy of the air, the engine thrust compensates for the resistance of the external environment; b) the buoyancy of the air is compensated by the airfield anchors.
The task. How can the following phenomena be explained: a) during rain, drops fall on the ground at the same speed; b) a space satellite flies with the engines turned off.
Answer: a) a drop of rain falls by inertia. In the lower atmosphere, the effect of the force of gravity of the earth is compensated by air resistance; b) the satellite moves rectilinearly and uniformly by inertia, if external forces do not act on it.
Practical value
As can be seen from the above, the formula of Newton’s first law does not exist. It has only a verbal description, there are no numerical characteristics for its meanings. Nevertheless, its significance in real life is very great. This is the cornerstone of all modern mechanics.
- Without knowledge of the laws of inertia, it is impossible to imagine the entire program of space exploration.
- A man uses a modern car every day. The entire safety system of the machine is built on the basis of knowledge of how bodies with different masses will behave when suddenly stopped.
- Hydroelectric power plants make a significant contribution to the world's energy sector. Their turbines generate current under the influence of inertia of water.
There are many examples, where everything obeys the law of inertia.
The view of the philosopher
Like any fundamental concept, the one we are considering goes far beyond the initial application. Its worldview value is difficult to overestimate. It is necessary to correctly determine the reporting system, Newton's first law will manifest itself, regardless of the type of human activity.
While doing what we love, we don’t even notice that we work by inertia. The power of hunger must manifest itself so that we interrupt our occupation. It is worth going on vacation to relax, we are so used to it that it takes effort to return to the working rhythm.
Once tuned in social systems develop by inertia. Significant forces are required to change the direction of its development.
Newtonian mechanics
The crucial importance of Newton’s first law has already been noted. The definition of subsequent laws goes into its development.
The second law states that the body receives acceleration in proportion to the force applied. With respect to mass, there will be an inverse relationship. Formulating differently, the body will be the faster it will change the speed of its movement, the greater the applied force and the less the mass of the body.
The third law makes clear that action is equal to counteraction. In other words, if one body exerts a force on another, then it receives the same effect in response. Only in the other direction.
All three mechanics are built on these three laws. Of course, for the calculations in the real world, complex formulas are used, more progressive models of the world order. But they all come down to three laws.
The format of the article does not allow to describe in detail all the rules and consequences arising from Newton's first law. To appreciate its significance, it is enough to understand simple things. To correctly understand the world, sometimes you need to simplify the system. Refuse secondary details and particulars. Highlight the main thing and follow the path of its study. Reduce everything to simpler concepts. It is important to apply the reference system correctly. The movement of the body is not absolute. Following the concepts of Newton’s first law, the reference frame in which the body will move can always be replaced by a simpler one, where the body is motionless relative to the observation point.
Looking at the world in a new way, you can change a lot.