Re: [Phys-L] inertia and the tablecloth demo

["Derek McKenzie" <derek@physicsfootnotes.com>]

Richard Tarara said:

Actually I have always been baffled by the fact that many students DO 
NOT seem to know what you mean by push/pull or even up/down. In 
exercises to identify the 3rd law force pairs various situations, one 
(too) often gets a mish-mash of pushes for pulls, pulls for pushes, and 
often in the wrong directions. :-(
-----------------------------------

That surprises me actually. In any case, just to be clear, I am not a
fan of identifying a force with a push/pull. As I argue in the following
post:

http://physicsfootnotes.com/force-does-not-cause-acceleration/

it's best to keep cause/effect language out of it. Necessary even!

Derek McKenzie