Newton’s Third Law

Synopsis
Examines two important consequences of Newton’s Third Law stating that action and reaction are equal and opposite. First, for a closed system, the centre of mass of the system moves uniformly or stays at rest. Second, in collision processes momentum is conserved for elastic collisions. The first consequence is theoretically developed and illustrated by showing gliders on an airtrack connected by a spring. A marker was placed in the centre of the mass of the two pucks and, using after images, it was shown this point moved uniformly. The principle was extended to colliding pucks. The second half of the programme examines colliding pucks on an air table demonstrating linear momentum conservation for elastic collisions. The results are extended to include the weaker principle of kinetic energy conservation.
Series
Mathematical Models and Methods, Course Mst204
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Medium
Video; Videocassette. Standard formats. col. 25 min.
Year of production
1981
Availability
OUT OF DISTRIBUTION
Subjects
Physics
Keywords
laws of physics; movement; Newton, Isaac; physics theories

Credits

Director
Ted Smith
Producer
Pip Surgey

Production Company

Name

BBC Open University Productions

Distributor

Name

Open University Worldwide

Web
http://www.ouw.co.uk External site opens in new window
Phone
+44 (0) 1908 274066
Address
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
MK7 6AA
Notes
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