Newton's Third Law and gravity

[defetey]

This is not really a homework question, just a question I came up with. If the Earth is pulling, for example, a book with a force of 5 N, that means, due to Newton's 3rd law, that the book is also pulling the Earth with a force of 5 N.

Does this mean the total force between them is actually 10 N (since they are each pulling each other with a force of 5 N)? That would imply you would need over 10 N to pick up the book, but I know you only need anything over 5 N. So what am I missing here?

 

[wrongusername]

This is not really a homework question, just a question I came up with. If the Earth is pulling, for example, a book with a force of 5 N, that means, due to Newton's 3rd law, that the book is also pulling the Earth with a force of 5 N.

Does this mean the total force between them is actually 10 N (since they are each pulling each other with a force of 5 N)? That would imply you would need over 10 N to pick up the book, but I know you only need anything over 5 N. So what am I missing here?

I believe it is because the only forces being exerted on the book are by you and the earth. Whatever force the book exerts on anything else is irrelevant; the only relevant forces are the ones acting on the book.

 

[defetey]

But if something was between them, would it experience 10 N of force (5 from the book and 5 from the Earth)?

 

[The legend]

no it wouldn't ... gravitational force is field force acting on any mass by any mass..
So the thing in between would experience a force based on it mass according to Newtons law of gravitation by both the Earth and the book but their magnitudes would be different(not 5N).

And there's no 10N force ... since 5 acts on the book and 5 on the Earth which are both separate bodies.

 

[rwisz]

I can explain this phenomenon using the principles of Newton's Third Law and gravity. Firstly, Newton's Third Law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In this case, the Earth is exerting a force of 5 N on the book, and the book is exerting a force of 5 N on the Earth in the opposite direction. This means that the forces are equal and opposite, but they act on different objects.

Now, let's consider the force of gravity between the book and the Earth. Gravity is a force that exists between any two objects with mass. The magnitude of this force is determined by the masses of the objects and the distance between them. In this scenario, the Earth has a much larger mass than the book, which means it exerts a greater force of gravity on the book than the book does on the Earth.

So, while the forces are equal and opposite, the force of gravity between the book and the Earth is not. This is why you only need a force greater than 5 N to pick up the book. The extra force is needed to overcome the force of gravity between the book and the Earth.

In summary, while the forces are equal and opposite according to Newton's Third Law, the force of gravity between the book and the Earth is not. Therefore, the total force between them is not 10 N, but rather the amount needed to overcome the force of gravity. I hope this explanation helps to clarify any confusion.