Laws of Motion

Background

Motion can be defined as the process or action of moving or changing place or position. And when something is moving, its change in position can be accurately calculated using the laws of physics.  It was Sir Isaac Newton that established some of these laws – known as the laws of motion – equating motion to forces.

Velocity

A definition of velocity is the speed of something in a given direction (illustrated in the picture below). Velocity is measured as a change in position over time, such as 25 miles per hour or 5 feet in a second. If velocity is constant, it’s the amount of time that it takes to travel the distance.

Credit: GCSE Additional Science

Newton defined an important law for velocity in the 17th century stating that an object at rest (no velocity) stays at rest unless a force is applied. Velocity and force are linked together in Newton’s first law of motion. The first law also states that an object in motion will stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction (i.e. velocity) unless a force is applied. This means that an object can change its position even if there is no force. This led to Newton’s second law, explaining a change in velocity over time, which is acceleration.

Acceleration

Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity with respect to time. For example, push on the gas pedal to accelerate a car and it changes velocity (speed in a given direction). Push on the brake, and it decelerates and will decrease velocity. If the car hits another object and decelerates, the force of the impact is based on the acceleration or deceleration, not the velocity of the car. Newton’s second law of motion states that the sum of all forces (F) is equal to mass (m) multiplied by acceleration (a), or F=ma. Thus, acceleration and force are intimately linked with this law.

Credit: Mathopenref

“Velocity is a change in position over time. Acceleration is a change in velocity over time.”

Explanation

Velocity and Newton’s First Law of Motion

The first law of motion states that a body will remain at rest, or continue at a constant velocity, unless a force is applied. Essentially, velocity is always constant in this law. At rest, velocity remains zero. While in motion, velocity remains the same until a force is applied. At rest, a particle or body’s acceleration (a) is zero and velocity (v) is zero. The figure below describes a particle that has a particle core of one or more wave centers, a standing wave structure that extends to the particle’s radius, and spherical, longitudinal traveling waves beyond this radius. Standing waves are generated by in-waves that are reflected to become out-waves. At rest, the wavelength of the standing waves (λ_lead) matches the wavelength of the in-waves (λ_l). There is no wavelength/frequency difference between the particle and its surrounding environment. The particle is at rest and will remain at rest.

Note: The traveling wave is a spherical, longitudinal wave. The figure above illustrates a simple sine wave as this wave due to the difficulties describing a three-dimensional wave in a two-dimensional image. 

A particle in motion has a velocity greater than zero. With no acceleration (a=0), velocity remains constant according to Newton’s first law of motion. To an observer, the wavelength on the leading edge (λ_lead) of the particle is compressed, in the direction of motion, relative to the longitudinal, traveling in-waves (λ_l). There is a wavelength or frequency difference with the external environment, which is shown to follow Doppler equations. This frequency difference is the basis of the calculation for velocity, as it will be shown mathematically. It is also the reason particles (and thus objects that are built upon particles) experience time dilation and length contraction in the direction of motion.

The figure below illustrates a particle in motion with no acceleration. Wave amplitude is constant and equal on all sides of the particle. The particle will maintain its standing wave frequency on both the leading and lagging edges of the standing wave structure, although it is different than its external environment. Wavelength on the leading edge is less than the wavelength of the in-waves (λ_lead < λ_l) and will remain constant. The smaller the leading edge wavelength, the greater the velocity. If the particle core reaches the edge of its standing wave radius, the leading edge wavelength is near zero, and its velocity is nearly the speed of light.

Velocity results in a difference in wavelength. The Doppler effect is apparent in the image above of a moving particle and is the basis of how the Velocity Equation is derived. The ratio of the fundamental wavelength and the wavelength of the leading edge of the particle is defined as:

Since the speed of light (c) and the fundamental wavelength (λ_l) are both constants, velocity (v) is proportional to the leading edge wavelength (λ_lead). It will be described later below on this page as an equation for velocity.

Acceleration and Newton’s Second Law of Motion

In the first law of motion, when described in wave terms, wavelength may differ but wave amplitude is constant. In the second law, wave amplitude is not constant and is the reason for force and acceleration. Particles move to minimize amplitude, one of the laws of energy wave theory. The figure below describes a particle, initially at rest (v_i=0), now accelerated (a>0). A particle will move in the direction of minimal amplitude, thus the leading edge in the acceleration and velocity equations always refer to the direction in motion where wave amplitude is less than the amplitude in any other direction surrounding the particle. Similarly, the amplitude in the direction of motion is described using the same notation (A_lead). This amplitude difference leads to a force on the object and it is accelerated. The particle core will move from its resting position to a new frequency.

The next figure describes the change in position of the particle core due to acceleration, which is caused by amplitude difference. Acceleration is the change in the position of the particle core, affecting wavelength and frequency. A smaller acceleration value moves the particle core slower towards its edge, and a larger acceleration value moves the particle core faster towards its edge. This requires a measurement of time to define slower or faster. Time is based on wavelength cycles (which is frequency), thus acceleration is the movement of the particle core towards the edge of the radius based on the number of wavelength cycles. This is seen in the acceleration equation in the next section of this page.

“Newton’s first law of motion is based upon wavelength. The second law is based upon wave amplitude.”

Equation

Acceleration

Although there are many forces that affect the motion and acceleration of an object that are man-made (e.g. an accelerating car), there are natural forces causing acceleration of objects that can be calculated such as gravitational forces.  For example, Earth has a natural acceleration for bodies near the surface, known as surface gravity (Earth is 9.81 m/s²).  The equation for acceleration is derived from the Gravitational Force equation, shown in the Forces paper.

Surface Gravity (Acceleration)

Using classical constants	Using energy wave constants

Detailed steps to derive the equations are found in the Forces paper.

Proof

Proof of the energy wave explanation for particle motion is the derivations and calculations of:

• Newton’s Second Law
• Calculated 11 planet surface gravities (acceleration) – see example calculation below

Earth’s Surface Gravity (Acceleration) – Calculation

Variables:

• Q₁ =Q_earth = 3.570E51 (from particle calculation for Earth)
• Q₂ = 1 (single particle – all particles accelerate at same rate)
• r = r _earth = 6,375,223 m (mean radius of Earth)

Equation: Surface Gravity (Acceleration) equation – from above
Result: 9.81 m/s²

Comments: No difference (0.00%) from measured value of Earth’s surface gravity.

A summary of various acceleration calculations are found on this site; more detailed calculations with instructions to reproduce these calculations is found in the Forces paper.