Newton's laws are the foundation stone of modern day mechanical engineering

In summary, Newton's laws, particularly his laws of motion, are the foundation stone of modern day mechanical engineering and are essential for understanding and solving problems in dynamics, fluid mechanics, vibrations, kinematics, and other areas. While there were other ancient and Renaissance scholars who also contributed to mechanical knowledge, Newton's laws are considered to be the cornerstone of classical mechanics, which forms the basis for mechanical engineering.
  • #1
anb2020
6
0
"Newton's laws are the foundation stone of modern day mechanical engineering."

Do you agree? Why?
 
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  • #2
welcome to pf!

hi anb2020! welcome to pf! :wink:

tell us what you think, and then we'll comment! :smile:
 
  • #3
I agree of course .. I'm a mechanical engineering student ..
Most of our studies are based on Newton's laws ..
Dynamics, Fluid mechanics, Vibrations, Kinematics, ...

But I want to hear what you think : )
 
  • #4
anb2020 said:
But I want to hear what you think : )

I think Newton sucks :rolleyes:
 
  • #5
Well I'd say that the laws of friction (Da Vinci) are more important to mechanical engineering than N1, N2 and N3. Little mech eng would be possible without friction.

Now can you tell us any other laws of importance in mech eng, some going back to the Ancient Greeks?

By the way my charges for answering your homework question here are $1,000,000 - I need that to bribe Greg for the infraction. Don't post homework here, post it in the proper place next time.
 
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  • #6
:approve:dont forget Newton's law of cooling,and his grand work in maths
 
  • #7
Those crazy mech E's: always neglecting to take relativity into account in their calculations. It's a wonder anything works...

...oh wait, no it isn't. :wink:
 
  • #8
Studiot said:
Well I'd say that the laws of friction (Da Vinci) are more important to mechanical engineering than N1, N2 and N3. Little mech eng would be possible without friction.

Now can you tell us any other laws of importance in mech eng, some going back to the Ancient Greeks?

By the way my charges for answering your homework question here are $1,000,000 - I need that to bribe Greg for the infraction. Don't post homework here, post it in the proper place next time.

It's not a Homework ..
I discussed this with one of my classmates and I want to hear more opinions ..
 
  • #9
Well you've had several ideas here.

What do you make of them?
 
  • #10
Personally, I think gravity sucks.
Newton should never have invented it...
 
  • #11
anb2020 said:
"Newton's laws are the foundation stone of modern day mechanical engineering."

Do you agree? Why?

anb2020 said:
I agree of course .. I'm a mechanical engineering student ..
Most of our studies are based on Newton's laws ..
Dynamics, Fluid mechanics, Vibrations, Kinematics, ...

But I want to hear what you think : )
Generally when I think of Newton's laws, I think of his laws of motion.
First law: If an object experiences no net force, then its velocity is constant: the object is either at rest (if its velocity is zero), or it moves in a straight line with constant speed (if its velocity is nonzero).[2][3][4]
Second law: The acceleration a of a body is parallel and directly proportional to the net force F acting on the body, is in the direction of the net force, and is inversely proportional to the mass m of the body, i.e., F = ma.
Third law: When a first body exerts a force F1 on a second body, the second body simultaneously exerts a force F2 = −F1 on the first body. This means that F1 and F2 are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.
Ref: Wikipedia,[/PLAIN] Newton's Laws of Motion

But it sounds like you're really thinking about "Newtonian mechanics" which I think is generally interpreted as being the same as Classical mechanics. For example:
The initial stage in the development of classical mechanics is often referred to as Newtonian mechanics, and is associated with the physical concepts employed by and the mathematical methods invented by Newton himself, in parallel with Leibniz, and others.
Ref: Wikipedia, Classical mechanics

Mechanical engineering, and perhaps most engineering majors, are founded on classical mechanics. We don't generally get into quantum mechanics or relativity, which I think would be the other major categories.
 
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  • #12
Q_Goest said:
Mechanical engineering, and perhaps most engineering majors, are founded on classical mechanics. We don't generally get into quantum mechanics or relativity, which I think would be the other major categories.

Exactly!

and Newton's laws of motion are three physical laws that form the basis for classical mechanics! (wikipedia)

So I guess you agree with me!
 
  • #13
anb2020 said:
and Newton's laws of motion are three physical laws that form the basis for classical mechanics! (wikipedia)
Quite a bit of mechanics preceeded Newton:

A simple machine is an elementary device that has a specific movement (often called a mechanism), which can be combined with other devices and movements to form a machine. Thus simple machines are considered to be the "building blocks" of more complicated machines. This analytical view of machines as decomposable into simple machines first arose in the Renaissance as a neoclassical amplification of ancient Greek texts on technology,[5] and is still a central part of engineering in today's age of applied science. For example, wheels, levers, and pulleys are all used in the mechanism of a bicycle.[6][7] Between the simple machines and complex assemblies, several intermediate classes can be defined, which may be termed "compound machines"[8][3][9] or "machine elements".[10] The mechanical advantage of a compound machine is simply the product of the mechanical advantages of the simple machines of which it is composed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_machine

This is the law of the lever, which was proven by Archimedes using geometric reasoning.[2] It shows that if the distance a from the fulcrum to where the input force is applied (point A) is greater than the distance b from fulcrum to where the output force is applied (point B), then the lever amplifies the input force. If the distance from the fulcrum to the input force is less than from the fulcrum to the output force, then the lever reduces the input force. Recognizing the profound implications and practicalities of the law of the lever, Archimedes has been famously attributed with the quotation "Give me a place to stand and with a lever I will move the whole world."[3]


In Principia, after introducing the three laws, Newton proceeds to a review of the received knowledge of simple machines and the Law of the Lever.

The Law of the Lever was actually known to the Greeks long before Archimedes, but he wrote the first rigorous proof of it.

Galileo wrote a treatise called On Mechanics in which he debunked then common misunderstandings about the Law of the Lever that were current at the time, specifically the notion that a lever allowed you to cheat nature and get increased strength for nothing.
 

What are Newton's laws?

Newton's laws are a set of three fundamental principles that describe the motion of objects in the universe. They were first published by Sir Isaac Newton in his book "Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica" in 1687.

What is the first law of motion?

The first law of motion, also known as the law of inertia, states that an object at rest will remain at rest and an object in motion will remain in motion at a constant velocity, unless acted upon by an external force.

What is the second law of motion?

The second law of motion states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass. This means that the greater the force applied, the greater the acceleration, and the greater the mass, the smaller the acceleration.

What is the third law of motion?

The third law of motion, also known as the law of action and reaction, states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This means that when one object exerts a force on another object, the second object will also exert an equal and opposite force on the first object.

How do Newton's laws apply to mechanical engineering?

Newton's laws are the foundation of classical mechanics, which is essential to the field of mechanical engineering. These laws are used to analyze and predict the motion of objects, design machines and structures, and understand the forces at work in various engineering systems.

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