Force

Definition

In physics, a force is an action that can cause an object to change its velocity or its shape, or to resist other forces, or to cause changes of pressure in a fluid. In mechanics, force makes ideas like 'pushing' or 'pulling' mathematically precise. Because the magnitude and direction of a force are both important, force is a vector quantity. The SI unit of force is the newton (N), and force is often represented by the symbol F.

Related concepts

4-momentum Absement Acceleration Action (physics)Aerodynamics Albert Einstein Aleksander Akhiezer Alexis Clairaut Analytical mechanics Angle Angular acceleration Angular displacement Angular frequency Angular momentum Angular speed Angular velocity Anneliese Maier Anthony Zee Antiparticle Appell's equation of motion Applied mechanics Archimedes Archimedes' principle Area Aristotelian physics Aristotelian theory of gravity Aristotle Asher Peres Asteroid Atmospheric science Atom Atomic nuclei Atomic nucleus Atoms Augustin-Louis Cauchy Basis vector Basketball (ball)Bernard Koopman Beta decay Big Bang Born rule Boyle's law Buoyancy Buoyant force CGS Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi Cecilia Jarlskog Celestial mechanics Center of mass Centimeter Centrifugal force Centrifugal force (fictitious)Centrifugal force (rotating reference frame)Centripetal force Chandralekha Singh Charged current Charles W. Misner Christiaan Huygens Circular motion Classical antiquity Classical element Classical field theory Classical mechanics Claude Cohen-Tannoudji Closed system Coefficient of kinetic friction Coefficient of static friction Color confinement Comet Compression (physical)Conservation of angular momentum Conservation of energy Conservation of momentum Conservative force Contact force Continuum mechanics Contour map Coriolis force Coulomb's law Couple (mechanics)Course of Theoretical Physics Cross product Cross section (geometry)Curved spacetime D'Alembert's principle Damping Daniel Bernoulli David L. Goodstein Density Differential calculus Dimensional analysis Direction (geometry)Direction (geometry, geography)Displacement (geometry)Displacement (vector)Displacement field (mechanics)Distance Drag (physics)Dynamic pressure Dynamics (mechanics)Dynamics (physics)Dyne Earth Edmond Halley Edward Routh Ehrenfest theorem Elasticity (physics)Electric charge Electric field Electrical polarity Electromagnetic force Electromagnetic spectrum Electromagnetism Electron Electron degeneracy pressure Electrostatic force Electroweak Electroweak interaction Energy Entropy Equations of motion Ernst Mach Euclidean vector Euler's equations (rigid body dynamics)Euler's laws of motion European Journal of Physics Evgeny Lifshitz Expectation value (quantum mechanics)External ballistics Fermion Feynman diagram Fictitious force Fictitious forces Fifth force Flight Fluid Fluid mechanics Foot-pound-second Foot (unit)Force (disambiguation)Force control Force gauge Foundations of Science Four-acceleration Four-force Four-vectors Frame dependent Frame of reference Frames of reference Francis Sears Free-body diagram Free-fall Free body diagram Free quark Frequency Friction Fundamental force Fundamental forces Fundamental interaction Fundamental interactions Galilean relativity Galileo Galileo Galilei Gauge boson General relativity Geodesic Glossary of physics Gluon Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Gradient Gram Gravitation Gravitation (book)Gravitational acceleration Gravitational constant Gravitational field Gravitational force Gravity Hadron Hamiltonian mechanics Hamilton–Jacobi equation Harmonic oscillator Henry Cavendish Hertz High-energy physics History of classical mechanics Hooke's law Hugh D. Young I. Bernard Cohen Ideal spring Imperial and US customary measurement systems Impetus theory Impulse (physics)Impulse momentum theorem Inclined plane Inertia Inertial frame of reference Integration (calculus)Internal energy International System of Units Internet Archive Invariant mass Inverse second Inverse square law Inverse square second Isaac Beeckman Isaac Newton James Clerk Maxwell Jean le Rond d'Alembert Jeremiah Horrocks Jerk (physics)Johann Bernoulli Johannes Kepler John Archibald Wheeler John Stewart Bell John von Neumann Jorge V. José Joseph-Louis Lagrange Joseph Liouville Josiah Willard Gibbs Joule Joule-second Kelvin Kepler's laws Kepler's laws of planetary motion Kilogram Kilogram-force Kilogram metre per second Kilogram per second Kilogram square metre Kilogram square metre per second Kilopond Kinematic viscosity Kinematics Kinetic energy Kinetic friction Kinetics (physics)Kip (unit)Kip Thorne Kluwer Koopman–von Neumann classical mechanics Lagrangian mechanics Latin language Leonhard Euler Lev Landau Lever Lift (physics)Light-year Linear motion List of equations in classical mechanics List of textbooks on classical mechanics and quantum mechanics Logic Lorentz factor Lorentz force MIT OpenCourseWare Magnetic field Magnetism Magnitude (mathematics)Marie-Antoinette Tonnelat Mark Zemansky Mass Mass flow rate Matrix diagonal Matthew Sands Max Jammer Maxwell's equations Measurement in quantum mechanics Mechanical advantage Mechanical energy Mechanical equilibrium Mechanical power (physics)Mechanical work Mercury (planet)Meson Meter Meter second Metre Metre per second Metre per second squared Metric slug Michael Faraday Microstate (statistical mechanics)Modern physics Moment (physics)Moment of inertia Moment of inertia tensor Momentum Moon Motion N. David Mermin Neptune Net force Neutral current Neutrino Neutron Newton's Laws of Motion Newton's first law Newton's law of gravitation Newton's law of gravity Newton's law of universal gravitation Newton's laws of motion Newton's second law Newton's third law Newton-metre Newton (unit)Newton second Newtonian constant of gravitation Non-inertial frame Non-inertial reference frame Normal force Nuclear force Nucleon Nutation Observation Oliver Heaviside OpenStax Open Yale Courses Optics Orbit Orders of magnitude (force)Orthogonal Oxford English Dictionary Parabola Parallel (geometry)Parallel force system Parallelogram rule Particle physics Paul Émile Appell Pauli exclusion principle Pendulum (mechanics)Pergamon Press Perihelion precession of Mercury Permittivity Perturbation analysis Philosophical Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica Philosophy of physics Physical compression Physical object Physics Physics (Aristotle)Pierre-Simon Laplace Pierre Gassendi Pierre Louis Maupertuis Planet Point particle Polar coordinates Position (vector)Position vector Potential Potential energy Pound-force Pound-mass Pound (force)Pound (mass)Poundal Power (physics)Precession Prentice Hall Pressure Principle of relativity Projectile Proportionality (mathematics)Proton Pulley Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell Quantum chromodynamics Quantum electrodynamics Quantum field theory Quantum mechanics Quark Quintessence (physics)Radian Radian per second Radian per second squared Radioactivity Radius Radius of curvature (applications)Reaction (physics)Reactive centrifugal force Relative velocity Relativistic mechanics René Descartes Rest frame Rest mass Resultant vector Reviews of Modern Physics Revolution (geometry)Richard Feynman Right angle Rigid body Rigid body dynamics Robert B. Leighton Robert Hooke Rotating reference frame Rotation Rotation around a fixed axis Rotational acceleration Rotational frequency Rotational inertia Rotational speed Rotational velocity Rotatum Routhian mechanics Ruth Durrer SI SI base unit SI unit Scalar (physics)Scalar field Scalar function Schrödinger equation Second Second law of motion Second law of thermodynamics Shear stress Simple harmonic motion Simple machine Siméon Denis Poisson Sir Isaac Newton Slug (unit)Solar System Solid angle Space Special theory of relativity Specific angular momentum Specific force Speed Speed of light Spherical symmetry Spring (device)Spring balance Spring constant Spring scale Square metre Stability of matter Standard Model Standard gravity Static equilibrium Static friction Statics Statistical mechanics Steradian Steven Frautschi Strain (physics)Stress (mechanics)Stroboscope Strong force Strong interaction Strong nuclear force Subatomic particle Superposition principle Symmetry Symmetry in physics Tangential speed Tensile stress Tension (physics)Tensor Terminal velocity Test charge The Feynman Lectures on Physics The Mechanical Universe Theory of impetus Theory of relativity Thomas Heath (classicist)Time Time derivative Timeline of classical mechanics Tom M. Apostol Ton-force Torque Torsion balance Trajectory Uncertainty principle Unified field theory Uniform circular motion Unit vector Universe University Physics University of Guelph University of Pennsylvania University of the Virgin Islands Vector (geometric)Vector (mathematics and physics)Vector addition Velocity Vertex (graph theory)Vibration Virtual particle Virtual work Viscosity Vladimir Arnold Vulcan (hypothetical planet)W. H. Freeman W and Z bosons W boson Walter Noll Watt Wave Weak force Weak interaction Weak nuclear force Weighing scale Weight William Rowan Hamilton Work (physics)Work energy theorem World line Yank (physics)Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat

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