Saturday, December 7, 2013

Newton's Laws and Pool

When I was playing pool I realized that someone who understands Newton's laws of motion would have an advantage when playing. All 3 laws apply greatly to this game. The cue ball remains at rest until it is hit by the cue stick. The ball would move at constant velocity, but external forces come into play causing it to slow down as it moves across the table. Friction is a major force that causes the ball to decrease in velocity, without it, the balls would never stop moving. Newton's third law allows all of the balls to stay at equilibrium. As they sit on the table, their weight pushes down but the table exerts an upward force equal in magnitude.The third law also comes into play when any of the balls hit each other or the walls of the table. The weight of the table is significantly greater than any of the balls so it doesn't move when the balls make impact, but because the balls are identical in size and weight, when they collide they move a certain way depending on the angle and strength of the hit, even though the forces are both equal in magnitude.

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