Force

In physics, a force is an action that can cause an object to change its velocity or its shape, or to resist other forces, or to cause changes of pressure in a fluid. In mechanics, force makes ideas like 'pushing' or 'pulling' mathematically precise. Because the magnitude and direction of a force are both important, force is a vector quantity (force vector). The SI unit of force is the newton (N), and force is often represented by the symbol .

rate at which energy is transferred, used, or transformed

energy transferred to an object via the application of force on it through a displacement

thumb|360px|The blue plate has more friction on the sloped surface than the green one, so slides down slower.

a physical law that states the electric force between two point charges is proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

law of physics fundamental to fluid mechanics

In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational correspondent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force, or simply the moment. Just as a linear force is a push or a pull applied to a body, a torque can be thought of as a twist applied to an object with respect to a chosen axis. For example, driving a screw uses torque to force it into an object. The torque is applied by the screwdriver, rotating around its axis, to the drive on the head of the screw.

apparent or fictitious force on objects moving within a reference frame that rotates with respect to an inertial frame

type of inertial force

force that makes a moving body follow a curved path

thumb|The forces at work in buoyancy. The object floats at rest because the upward force of buoyancy is equal to the downward force of gravity.

force; aerodynamics term

retarding force on a body moving in a fluid

secondary effect of the force of gravity of one body on another

upright=1.5|thumb|A Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft performing a vertical climb using its [[Pratt & Whitney F135 jet engine, which produces of thrust.]]

apparent force that acts on all masses whose motion is described using a non-inertial frame of reference, such as a rotating reference frame

force with the property that the work done in moving a particle between two points is independent of the path taken

Physical force caused by virtual particles

force exerted on an object by a body with which it is in contact, and vice versa

ancient Greek goddess, personification of force

weighing scale consisting of a spring fixed at one end with a hook to attach an object at the other

force directed towards or away from a point

thumb|right|400px|A simple crane

brings system back toward equilibrium

the overall force acting on an object. In order to calculate the net force, the body is isolated and interactions with the environment or other constraints are represented as forces and torques in a free-body diagram

spatially nonlocal causation: the concept that an object can be directly influenced by one that is not adjacent to it

hypothesized fundamental force in addition to gravitational, electroweak and strong interactions

part of Newton's laws

physics term

addition of vectors

moment that results in the bending of a structural element

concept in vector calculus

physical process in which a tangential force is transmitted across an interface between two bodies through dry friction or an intervening fluid film resulting in motion, stoppage or the transmission of power

Static equivalence of systems of forces and moments

(scientific contexts) mass refers loosely to the amount of "matter" in an object (though "matter" may be difficult to define), whereas weight refers to the force exerted on an object by gravity

force that acts throughout the volume of a body

coplanar forces acting on the same body in opposite directions

In the special theory of relativity, four-force is a four-vector that replaces the classical force.

when two systems are interacting with each other, that is not being independent

measure of the pulling power of a watercraft

nonlinear force that a charged particle experiences in an inhomogeneous oscillating electromagnetic field

force that acts at the point of contact between two objects

the apparently visible weight of an object, which may or may not differ from the real weight

force which acts across an internal or external surface element in a material body

force which acts on an object without coming physically in contact with it

force which brings a body into mechanical equilibrium

the force a locomotive can pull without losing traction with the rails (wheel slip)

dynamic model of interaction between tire and road

what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?

rotation independent of any external reference

reaction to centripetal force

geometric representation of a force on an object

force produced by a vehicle tire during cornering