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In physics, work is the energy transferred to or from an object via the application of force along a displacement. In its simplest form, for a constant force aligned with the direction of motion, the work equals the product of the force strength and the distance traveled. A force is said to do positive work if it has a component in the ...
The concepts invoked in Newton's laws of motion — mass, velocity, momentum, force — have predecessors in earlier work, and the content of Newtonian physics was further developed after Newton's time. Newton combined knowledge of celestial motions with the study of events on Earth and showed that one theory of mechanics could encompass both.
Virtual work is the total work done by the applied forces and the inertial forces of a mechanical system as it moves through a set of virtual displacements. When considering forces applied to a body in static equilibrium, the principle of least action requires the virtual work of these forces to be zero.
In physics, Hooke's law is an empirical law which states that the force ( F) needed to extend or compress a spring by some distance ( x) scales linearly with respect to that distance—that is, Fs = kx, where k is a constant factor characteristic of the spring (i.e., its stiffness ), and x is small compared to the total possible deformation of ...
Pure physics is a branch of fundamental science (also called basic science). Physics is also called " the fundamental science" because all branches of natural science like chemistry, astronomy, geology, and biology are constrained by laws of physics. [60] Similarly, chemistry is often called the central science because of its role in linking ...
Conservation laws are considered to be fundamental laws of nature, with broad application in physics, as well as in other fields such as chemistry, biology, geology, and engineering. Most conservation laws are exact, or absolute, in the sense that they apply to all possible processes. Some conservation laws are partial, in that they hold for ...
For other examples of "work" in physics, see Work (physics). Electric field work is the work performed by an electric field on a charged particle in its vicinity. The particle located experiences an interaction with the electric field. The work per unit of charge is defined by moving a negligible test charge between two points, and is expressed ...
Huygens' Horologium Oscillatorium had a tremendous influence on the history of physics, especially on the work of Isaac Newton, who greatly admired the work. For instance, the laws Huygens described in the Horologium Oscillatorium are structurally the same as Newton's first two laws of motion.