- #1
prosteve037
- 110
- 3
To me, it seems like variables that are proportional to the same result are almost always (if not always) multiplied or divided by each other. I've noticed that this is the case in all the physics equations that I've seen so far.
A good example of this is Newton's Second Law:
[tex]{F}\propto{m}[/tex]
[tex]{F}\propto{a}[/tex]
[tex]{F}\propto{ma}[/tex]
What's the reasoning behind multiplying the two? Is it just how a proportional relationship is defined? Is it because of the Multiplicative Property of Zero? Could this be re-written any other way? (And I don't mean using calculus)
I can see how multiplicative properties can be a lot more useful than properties of addition but it just seems kind of crazy to me that multiplication/division are the only ways to quantify some physical quantities :/
Thanks for taking the time to read!
A good example of this is Newton's Second Law:
[tex]{F}\propto{m}[/tex]
[tex]{F}\propto{a}[/tex]
[tex]{F}\propto{ma}[/tex]
What's the reasoning behind multiplying the two? Is it just how a proportional relationship is defined? Is it because of the Multiplicative Property of Zero? Could this be re-written any other way? (And I don't mean using calculus)
I can see how multiplicative properties can be a lot more useful than properties of addition but it just seems kind of crazy to me that multiplication/division are the only ways to quantify some physical quantities :/
Thanks for taking the time to read!