Help Space understand A=F/M

[Space05us]

I would pester my physics teacher except it Saturday and theres no school. Is my drawing correct?

[Solver]

Whenever any power is applied on an object, then an equally large power facing in the opposite direction is created. That's it .

So, when you're moving your mouse, there's the power of your hand, and the opposite power of mouse rubbing against the table.

But I don't know any physics terms in English...

[Space05us]

Whenever any power is applied on an object, then an equally large power facing in the opposite direction is created. That's it .

So, when you're moving your mouse, there's the power of your hand, and the opposite power of mouse rubbing against the table.

But I don't know any physics terms in English...

perhaps I should calrify my question. Why does the tissue move? (and is my drawing the correct answer?)

[reds4ever]

Originally posted by Solver
Whenever any power is applied on an object, then an equally large power facing in the opposite direction is created. That's it .

So, when you're moving your mouse, there's the power of your hand, and the opposite power of mouse rubbing against the table.

What about the energy that is turned into noise?

[Ben Kenobi]

Space.

How could you pull on that object in space?

Your diagram is correct. It shows that unless you have some kind of normal force, you will not be able to pull the object.

{}
XX - - - i ----> Fyou
XX ^

< ----- Ffriction.

Without friction, there would be nothing to hold the object in place so that you could start to move the object.

If you are pushing the object, both you and the object would move away from each other depending on the ratio of your masses.

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi

Without friction, there would be nothing to hold the object in place so that you could start to move the object.

If you are pushing the object, both you and the object would move away from each other depending on the ratio of your masses.

You aren't making sense there, at least to me. You don't need friction to push or pull an object. The only key point in the space situation is that the centre of mass cannot move (assuming you define it as originally stationary). I always prefer to do these questions in terms of CoM and momentum.

[TCO]

That is really going to help a weak physics student...

[Ben Kenobi]

BC:

In order to push the object in one direction, without pushing yourself away, you need friction. Without friction, you don't have the traction to actually push or pull.

And yes, that's a better way to put the question in terms of centre of mass. That's why when you push, the ratio of the velocities will be the inverse of the ratio of the masses.

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
BC:

In order to push the object in one direction, without pushing yourself away, you need friction. Without friction, you don't have the traction to actually push or pull.

I see what you mean, but I don't like the description as its too inaccurate for my liking. I would express it that you need to have a heavy mass to hold onto, effectively reducing your recoil velocity to a negligible size. Friction needn't be a part of the equation and is a complicating factor that you'd really want to ignore whenever you can.

[KrazyHorse]

The tissue moves because there is a net force acting on it (pull from your hand). Newton's third law tells you that whenever you act on an object (tissue) the tissue acts on you with an equal and opposite force (this is due to conservation of momentum, which is in turn due to translational symmetry of space, but that is irrelevant here). On the Earth you do not actually move when you pull on a tissue because your frictional contact with the ground stops you and the force is so tiny (the tissue being very small) that you don't notice it. In space, there would be no frictional force counteracting your tendency to move in the opposite direction of the tissue, so you would drift very slowly.

The final verdict is, for all force problems, coming from experience in dealing with freshman physics students:

1) draw a free body diagram
2) DRAW A FREE BODY DIAGRAM!
3) forces are opposite and equal
4) F=MA (vector eqn.)

[Space05us]

at first I understand it just fine, and then I have to go and think about it...

You aren't making sense there, at least to me. You don't need friction to push or pull an object. The only key point in the space situation is that the centre of mass cannot move (assuming you define it as originally stationary). I always prefer to do these questions in terms of CoM and momentum.

Ben almost confused me to the point of insanity, telling me the tissue cant move.

1) draw a free body diagram

a what?

That is really going to help a weak physics student...

you shall burn in hell for that comment!


Its becoming clearer now, thanks guys! looking at my original post Im not even sure of what I was confused about...

[KrazyHorse]

A free body diagram is what you've drawn, basically. You take out a piece (the tissue, say, or you) and draw all the forces acting on it.

[Rogan Josh]

Why are you using a tissue as an example?

Wouldn't this be easier with a ball or something?

[MrFun]

So if you masturbate in space, and when you pull outward with your stroking, would that pull your entire body forward in the same direction??

[MikeH]

Yes, as long as you never moved your hand backwards to get the second stroke.