Resultant Force vs. Net Force: Clarifying the Difference

[iurod]

the motion of a body is always in the direction of the resultant force. Why wouldn't this be a correct statement?

I thought all the forces on a body were added up and the resultant force was the direction in which the body moved. Am I confusing net force with resultant force? I was under the impression that they meant the same thing..

 

[russ_watters]

I'd probably replace the word "motion" with "acceleration" in the first post.

 

[iurod]

Hey Russ,
Thanks for the reply. I just checked out your website, and its really cool!

 

[hikaru1221]

the motion of a body is always in the direction of the resultant force. Why wouldn't this be a correct statement?

I thought all the forces on a body were added up and the resultant force was the direction in which the body moved. Am I confusing net force with resultant force? I was under the impression that they meant the same thing..

They are the same.
But the statement "the motion of a body is always in the direction of the resultant force" is wrong. In circular motion with constant speed, velocity is perpendicular to net force.

 

[iurod]

They are the same.
But the statement "the motion of a body is always in the direction of the resultant force" is wrong. In circular motion with constant speed, velocity is perpendicular to net force.

I didn't think of that until now. I guess circular motion totally proved this statement to be incorrect. Thanks for clarifying this for me hikaru

 

[russ_watters]

If you replace "velocity" with "acceleration" the statement still holds in the case of circular motion.

Thanks for the compliment on my website.