Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) an English scientist and mathematician famous for his discovery of the law of gravity also discovered the three laws of motion. He published them in his book Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (mathematic principles of natural philosophy) in 1687. Today these laws are known as Newton’s Laws of Motion and describe the motion of all objects on the scale we experience in our everyday lives.
“If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention, than to any other talent.”
-Sir Isaac Newton
Newton’s Laws of Motion
1. An object in motion tends to stay in motion and an object at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
2. Force equals mass times acceleration (F = ma).
3. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
If the forces on an object are equal and opposite, they are said to be balanced, and the object experiences no change in motion. If they are not equal and opposite, then the forces are unbalanced and the motion of the object changes.