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Force and momentum are intimately related. Force acting over time can change momentum, and Newton’s second law of motion, can be stated in its most broadly applicable form in terms of momentum. Momentum continues to be a key concept in the study of atomic and subatomic particles in quantum mechanics.
This statement of Newton’s second law of motion includes the more familiar as a special case. We can derive this form as follows. First, note that the change in momentum is given by
If the mass of the system is constant, then
So that for constant mass, Newton’s second law of motion becomes
Because , we get the familiar equation
when the mass of the system is constant .
Newton’s second law of motion stated in terms of momentum is more generally applicable because it can be applied to systems where the mass is changing, such as rockets, as well as to systems of constant mass. We will consider systems with varying mass in some detail ; however, the relationship between momentum and force remains useful when mass is constant, such as in the following example.
During the 2007 French Open, Venus Williams hit the fastest recorded serve in a premier women’s match, reaching a speed of 58 m/s (209 km/h). What is the average force exerted on the 0.057-kg tennis ball by Venus Williams’ racquet, assuming that the ball’s speed just after impact is 58 m/s, that the initial horizontal component of the velocity before impact is negligible, and that the ball remained in contact with the racquet for 5.0 ms (milliseconds)?
Strategy
This problem involves only one dimension because the ball starts from having no horizontal velocity component before impact. Newton’s second law stated in terms of momentum is then written as
As noted above, when mass is constant, the change in momentum is given by
In this example, the velocity just after impact and the change in time are given; thus, once is calculated, can be used to find the force.
Solution
To determine the change in momentum, substitute the values for the initial and final velocities into the equation above.
Now the magnitude of the net external force can determined by using :
where we have retained only two significant figures in the final step.
Discussion
This quantity was the average force exerted by Venus Williams’ racquet on the tennis ball during its brief impact (note that the ball also experienced the 0.56-N force of gravity, but that force was not due to the racquet). This problem could also be solved by first finding the acceleration and then using , but one additional step would be required compared with the strategy used in this example.
An object that has a small mass and an object that has a large mass have the same momentum. Which object has the largest kinetic energy?
An object that has a small mass and an object that has a large mass have the same kinetic energy. Which mass has the largest momentum?
How can a small force impart the same momentum to an object as a large force?
(a) Calculate the momentum of a 2000-kg elephant charging a hunter at a speed of . (b) Compare the elephant’s momentum with the momentum of a 0.0400-kg tranquilizer dart fired at a speed of . (c) What is the momentum of the 90.0-kg hunter running at after missing the elephant?
(a)
(b) 625 to 1
(c)
A runaway train car that has a mass of 15,000 kg travels at a speed of down a track. Compute the time required for a force of 1500 N to bring the car to rest.
54 s
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