Fundamental Forces
There are four fundamental forces,
or interactions in nature.
Strong nuclear Strongest
Electromagnetic
Weak nuclear
Gravitational Weakest
Since like charges repel one another, how can positively charged
protons exist closely packed in an atomic nucleus?
Strong nuclear force – holds protons
and neutrons together in atomic
nuclei. It is the strongest force, but
it acts over only very short distances
inside a nucleus.
The standard exchange particle for the strong force is the gluon
Two quarks interact by
exchanging the strong carrier
u=up d=down dubbed the
C=charm s=strange “gluon
T=top b=bottom
Proton=uud
Neutron=udd
Weak nuclear force – responsible for some radioactive
decay, such as the decay that creates radon gas.
It is the next to the weakest force, and acts only when
particles are close together.
At the quark level, a down quark in the neutron decays into an up
quark, by emitting a W boson
Electromagnetic force – holds matter together by
providing the force that binds atoms into molecules.
The force between particles of opposite charge is
attractive.
+ -
The force between particles of the same charge is repulsive.
+ + - -
The force works with an exchange of photons
By emitting or absorbing a photon, the electron can
change its average position or energy in an atom
Gravitational force - an attractive force that exists between
all objects.
The gravitational force between the center of the Earth and
objects near it causes objects to fall toward the surface of the
Earth.
Exchange particle for gravitational force is graviton (hypothetical)
Fundamental Forces summary
Unification
• There’s a natural tendency toward unification of forces
• For instance electrical and magnetic phenomena were
unified by Maxwell’s equations into electromagnetism
• Grand unified theories (GUTs) are attempts to explain three of the
forces in terms of a single consistent set of physical laws
• A supergrand unified theory would explain all four forces
• GUTs suggest that all four physical forces were equivalent just after
the Big Bang
A Few of the Unsolved Questions
● Can the forces be fully unified?
● How do particles get mass?
● How does gravity fit into all of this?
● Can we explain how gravity works on
small scales - quantum gravity?
1. Which two forces have fields that fall off as 2. Electrons and protons influence each other
1/distance2? by exchanging what type of particles?
A: strong and gravitational A: neutrinos
B: weak and gravitational B: bosons
C: strong and electromagnetic C: quarks
D: electromagnetic and gravitational D: photons
3. What force keeps the nucleus of an atom 4. What force allows neutrons to decay into
from coming apart? protons?
A: gravitational A: gravitational
B: electromagnetic B: electromagnetic
C: strong C: strong
D: weak D: weak
Gravity
How Gravity acts
• A natural force that pulls all
objects toward the center of the
earth.
Gravitational field
Sun’s gravitational force makes the Earth
move in an orbit around the Sun.
Earth’s gravitational force makes the ball
move down towards the centre of the
Earth.
Variation of gravitational acceleration with height.
The acceleration due to gravity is given by
Height from the Surface of the Earth
The value at a depth h is
Work and Power
Work
When a force acts on an object and the object actually
moves in the direction of force, then the work is said to
be done by the force.
The SI units for work are
Joules J (with force, F, in
Newton's N and distance,
s, in metres m)
work done = force × distance moved in direction of force
W=[Link]
=FsCos θ
Work energy theorem
the work done on a particle by the resultant force is equal to the change in its
kinetic energy
b
1 2 1 2
F .dr
a
2
mv mv
b 2 a
Resultant force:
the work done by the resultant force is equal to the sum of the work done by the
individual forces.
Work done by a force is zero, if
(a) body is not displaced actually, i.e., s = 0
(b) body is displaced perpendicular to the
direction of force, i.e.,
θ = 90°
Work done by a force is positive if angle between F and s is acute angle.
Work done by a force is negative if angle between F and s is obtuse angle.
You are exerting a force on a book kept on a table having coefficient of friction μ
Find out work done by different forces
Work done in different conditions
Work done by a variable force is given by
Work done by a constant force depends only on the initial and final Positions
and not on the actual path followed between initial and final positions.
If work done by a force during a rough trip of a system is zero, then the force is
conservative, otherwise it is called non-conservative force
Gravitational force, electrostatic force, magnetic force, etc are conservative
forces. All the central forces are conservative forces
Spring Force
power
The time rate of work done by a body is called its power
Power = Rate of doing work = Work done / Time taken
1. When you push your bicycle up on an incline the potential energy of the
bicycle and yourself increases. Where does this energy come from ?
2. A ball is given a speed v on a rough horizontal surface. The ball travels through
a distance 1 m on the surface and stops. (a) What are the initial and final kinetic
energies of the ball ? (b) What is the work done by the kinetic friction ?
3. The magnetic force on a charged particle is always perpendicular to its
velocity. Can the magnetic force change the velocity of the particle ? Speed of
the particle ?
4. A block of mass 2.0 kg is pulled up on a smooth incline of angle 30° with
the horizontal. If the block moves with an acceleration of 1.0 m/s2, find the
power delivered by the pulling force at a time 4.0 s after the motion starts.
What is the average power delivered during the 4.0 s after the motion starts?
5. A force F = (10 + 0.50 x) acts on a particle in the x direction, where F is in
newton and x in meter. Find the work done by this force during a
displacement from x = 0 to x = 2.0 m.
What is Energy?
“The capacity to do work”
Types of Energy
Heat Chemical
Light Gravitational
Sound Elastic/strain
Kinetic Nuclear
Electric
Stored/potential
Energy
Kinetic energy is the energy of a moving object
mv2
KE = ---------
2
Potential Energy
Potential energy is the energy of position
Gravitational Potential Energy
W = Fd = mgh = PE (potential energy)
PE of a 1000-kg car at the top of a 50-m
PE is relative! multilevel parking lot is:
mgh= (1000 kg)(9.8 m/s2)(50 m)=490 kJ
Rest Mass Energy
Mass and Energy are related to each other and can be
converted into each other.
Einstein...
The rest energy of a body is the energy equivalent of its
mass.
E0 = m0c2
Total energy of sub atomic particle E p 2c 2 m0 2c 4
Energy Transformations
Many mechanical processes involve interchanges between
KE, PE, and work.
Potential Friction: energy gets
energy converted to heat
Potential
energykinet
ic energy
A diver of mass m drops from a board 10.0 m above the
water surface, as in the Figure. Find his speed 5.00 m
above the water surface. Neglect air resistance.
G=9.8m/s2 9.9 m/s
A skier slides down the frictionless slope as shown. What is the skier’s speed at the
bottom?
start
28.0 m/s
H=40 m
finish
L=250 m
Two blocks, A and B (mA=50 kg and mB=100 kg), are connected by a
string as shown. If the blocks begin at rest, what will their speeds
be after A has slid a distance s = 0.25 m? Assume the pulley and
incline are frictionless.
1.51 m/s
Three identical balls are thrown from the top of a
building with the same initial speed. Initially,
Ball 1 moves horizontally.
Ball 2 moves upward.
Ball 3 moves downward.
Neglecting air resistance, which ball has the
fastest speed when it hits the ground?
A) Ball 1
B) Ball 2
C) Ball 3
D) All have the same speed.
Springs (Hooke’s
Law)
F kx
Proportional to displacement from
equilibrium
Potential Energy of Spring
1
DPE (kx)x DPE=-FDx
2
1 2
PE kx F
2
Dx
Graphical connection between F
and PE
F
DPE FDx
x1 x2
x
Dx
PE2 PE1 Area under curve
Graphical connection between F
and PE
PE DPE FDx
DPE
F
Dx
F = -slope, points down hill
x
Graphs of F and PE for spring
PE=(1/2)kx2
F=-kx
x
60
PE (J)
50
40 Release point
30
20
A
10
0
0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0
At point 'A', which are zero? x (m)
a) force
b) acceleration
c) force and acceleration
d) velocity
60
PE (J)
50
40 Release point
30
20
B
10
0
0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0
At point 'B', which are zero? x (m)
a) force
b) acceleration
c) force and acceleration
d) velocity
e) kinetic energy
60
PE (J)
50 A
I
40 Release point
B
30
E H
D
20
C F
10 G
0
0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0
All points for which force is negative (to the left): x (m)
a) C, E and G
b) B and F
c) A and I
d) D and H
e) D, H and I
60
PE (J)
50
40 D
Release point
30
20
10
0
0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0
At point 'D', which are zero? x (m)
a) force
b) acceleration
c) force and acceleration
d) velocity
e) Velocity and kinetic energy
Suppose one had a supply of anti-matter which one could mix with matter to produce
energy. What mass of antimatter would be required to satisfy the U.S. energy
consumption in 2000? (9.9x1016 BTUs)
1 BTU = 1,055 joules
574 kg
Friction
“Friction is a Force that always pushes against an
object when it touches another object”
“When 2 things are in contact with each other, there
will be friction acting between them”
Question: Given that all objects shown below are of equal mass and identical shape, in which
case the frictional force is greater?
Question: Who sketched this figure?
Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) showed that the friction force is independent of the geometrical
area of contact.
The paradox: Intuitively one would expect the friction force to scale proportionally to the
contact area.
What is Friction
• Friction is a force
• A frictional force can exist when two substances
contact each other.
• If there is no motion, then friction opposes the
sum of all the other forces which are parallel to
the surfaces in contact.
Contact Force
• Force that occurs between objects that are in
contact with each other.
• Contact forces can be resolved into
components that are perpendicular and
parallel to the surfaces in contact.
• The perpendicular component is called the
normal force.
• The parallel component is called friction.
Friction…
• High friction (lots of friction) – will slow
something down
• Low friction (not much friction) – will keep
things moving
High friction or Low friction?
Ski’s on the snow
Car tyre
Brakes on a bike Water on a slide
Pencil and rubber
How can we reduce the friction
between 2 objects?
• Reduce the contact area by using rollers/ball-
bearings/wheels
• Change the surfaces of the materials that are
touching by using lubrication eg. Oil
• Create a cushion of air
Eg. Like a hovercraft or air hockey table
“Fluid” Friction
• This type of friction is what happens with liquids and
gases (In Physics, liquids and gases are both called
"fluids". They behave in similar ways.)
• Fluid friction is also known as "drag". On aircraft it's
also called "air resistance".
It depends on:-
– how thick the fluid is
(its "viscosity")
– the shape of the object
– the speed of the object
• Aircraft and car designers want to reduce
drag, so that the vehicle can go fast without
having to waste too much fuel.
Static – Friction that keeps an object at rest and
prevents it from moving
Kinetic – Friction that acts during motion
Static Friction
fs max = µsn
Kinetic Friction
fk = µkn
• An empty cart is being
rolled across a
warehouse floor. If the
cart was filled, the
kinetic friction
coeficient between the
cart and the floor would
1. Decrease
2. Increase
3. Remain the same
• Sand is often placed on an
icy road because the sand:
1. Decreases the coefficient of
friction between the tires of
a car and the road
2. Increases the coefficient of
friction between the tires of
a car and the road
3. Decrease the gravitational
force on a car
4. Increases the normal force
of a car on the road
If the coefficient of kinetic friction between a 35-kg crate and the floor is
0.30, what horizontal force is required to move the crate to the right at
a constant speed across the floor?
Fn Fa F f F f k FN
Fa Fa k FN
Ff FN mg
Fa k mg
Fa (0.30)(35)(9.8)
mg
Fa 102.9 N
Suppose the same 35 kg crate was not moving at a constant speed, but
rather accelerating at 0.70 m/s/s. Calculate the applied force. The
coefficient of kinetic friction is still 0.30.
FNET ma
Fa Ff ma
Fn
Fa k FN ma
Fa
Fa k mg ma
Ff
Fa ma k mg
Fa (35)(0.70) (0.30)(35)(9.8)
mg Fa 127.4 N
Inclines
Ff FN
mg cos
Tips
mg
•Rotate Axis
•Break weight into components
mg sin •Write equations of motion or
equilibrium
•Solve
Friction & Inclines
A person pushes a 30-kg shopping cart up a 10 degree incline with a force of 85
N. Calculate the coefficient of friction if the cart is pushed at a constant
speed.
Fa Ff mg sin Ff k FN
Fa Fa k FN mg sin FN mg cos
Fn
Fa k mg cos mg sin
Fa mg sin k mg cos
mg cos Fa mg sin
k
mg cos
Ff
85 (30)(9.8)(sin10)
mg k 0.117
(30)(9.8)(cos10)
mg sin
Example
A 5-kg block sits on a 30 degree incline. It is attached to string that is thread
over a pulley mounted at the top of the incline. A 7.5-kg block hangs from
the string.
a) Calculate the tension in the string if the acceleration of the system is 1.2
m/s/s
b) Calculate the coefficient of kinetic friction.
T FN FNET ma
m1 g T m1a
m2gcos30
T
30
Ff T ( Ff m2 g sin ) m2 a
m2g
m1 30
m2gsin30 FN m2 g cos
m1g
Example
T ( Ff m2 g sin ) m2 a
FNET ma T Ff m2 g sin m2 a
m1 g T m1a
T k FN m2 g sin m2 a
m1 g m1a T T m2 a m2 g sin k FN
(7.5)(9.8) (7.5)(1.2) T T m a m g sin
2 2
k FN m2 g cos
T 64.5 N FN
T m2 a m2 g sin
k
m2 g cos
64.5 (5)(1.2) (5)(9.8)(sin 30)
k
(5)(9.8)(cos 30)
k 0.80 N
A 24000 kg engine pulls a train of 6 wagons, each of 2000 kg,
along a horizontal track. If the engine exerts a force of 80000 N
and the track offers a friction force of 8000 N, then calculate:
(a) the net accelerating force;
(b) the acceleration of the train; and
(c) the force of wagon 1 on wagon 2.
Can you accelerate a car on a frictionless horizontal road by putting more petrol in
the engine? Can you stop a car going on a frictionless horizontal road by applying
brakes?
Why do tyres have a better grip of the road while going on a level road than while
going on an incline?
When two surfaces are polished, the friction coefficient between them decreases. But
the friction coefficient increases and becomes very large if the surfaces are made
highly smooth. Explain.
