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Re: Newton's second law



re: Justin's example of throwing the sand sideways from the train.

In order for the train to remain on the track, the track exerts a force on the train which is equal to the force applied internally from the train to the sand. (Think Newton's 3rd ... one action-reaction pair is between train and sand, the other between sand and train.) The net force is sideways, and the center of mass acquires momentum at right angles to its initial direction.


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"Do your homework!"
- James 1:22 (paraphrased)
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George Spagna
Department of Physics
Randolph-Macon College
P.O. Box 5005
Ashland, VA 23005-5505
phone: (804) 752-7344
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e-mail: gspagna@rmc.edu
http://faculty.rmc.edu/gspagna