Lesson 1: Forces and Newton's First Law

Forces can be thought of as a push or a pull. They involve one object acting upon another, like a pool ball hitting another pool ball, or the gravity of the Earth pulling us all down toward the ground. We all have had countless experiences with forces, whether we like it or not, like falling off of a ladder and being kindly welcomed by the pleasing hardness of the ground below us.

Isaac Newton, analyzed forces and motion and describes them in three simple laws. Now if you are getting at all finicky, don't worry, these are way easier to learn than you think.

Today we will start off with the first of three laws and we will cover the next two laws in the next two days and we will look at a few applications after that. With that being said lets begin.

Newton says that if an object is in motion, it will stay in motion, or if an object is not moving, it will stay still unless forces act upon it. At first glance this does not seem quite right because when you kick a ball, it eventually stops, or when a tool is set still on a slanted roof, it might slide off. However, we have to understand that it is extremely hard to find a place where no forces act on an object. On Earth, we have the force of friction that will slow that ball down after it is kicked, or we have the force of gravity which will pull the tool down off of the roof and towards the ground.

Think about it for a while, if we were in space and we were far away from everything, we would just float there. We wouldn't spontaneously start flying around because what would push us? This is the same for something that is in motion. If it is moving, what would be around to stop it? There would be no air resistance, friction, or gravity.

So for today, think about Newton's First law and try to imagine what would happen to the world if we took forces away such as gravity or friction.

With that we will end our first lesson and i will see you tomorrow for lesson 2.

What This Blog is About

In the modern world, technology is constantly growing in importance. Most of the general population is surrounded by ordinary devices which did not exist 50 years ago. Every day, more and more people across the world become owners of a computer, television, cell phone, xbox, or many other useful inventions or innovations. However, these vital advances in technology also bring complication with them. Not many people understand how an electric motor functions which propells thier new hybrid vehicle.

The goal of this blog is to make you, the reader, smarter and more informed about how modern technology functions, through easy, daily, 5 minute lessons which will illustrate the fundamental elements which all technology is based upon. With this knowledge, the reader will be able to understand the rapidly advancing world around them and make more informed decisions pertaining to technology.