Mechanics and Motion
Motion is one of the key topics in physics. Everything in the universe moves. It might only be a small amount of movement and very very slow, but movement does happen. Don't forget that even if you appear to be standing still, the Earth is moving around the Sun, and the Sun is moving around our galaxy. The movement never stops. Motion is one part of what physicists call mechanics. Over the years, scientists have discovered several rules or laws that explain motion and the causes of changes in motion. There are also special laws when you reach the speed of light or when physicists look at very small things like atoms.
Speed it Up, Slow it Down
The physics of motion is all about forces. Forces need to act upon an object to get it moving, or to change its motion. Changes in motion won't just happen on their own. So how is all of this motion measured? Physicists use some basic terms when they look at motion. How fast an object moves, its speed or Velocity, can be influenced by forces. (Note: Even though the terms 'speed' and 'velocity' are often used at the same time, they actually have different meanings.)
Acceleration is a twist on the idea of velocity. Acceleration is a measure of how much the velocity of an object changes in a certain time (usually in one second). Velocities could either increase or decrease over time. Mass is another big idea in motion. Mass is the amount of something there is, and is measured in grams (or kilograms). A car has a greater mass than a baseball.
Simple and Complex Movement
There are two main ideas when you study mechanics. The first idea is that there are simple movements, such as if you're moving in a straight line, or if two objects are moving towards each other in a straight line. The simplest movement would be objects moving at constant velocity. Slightly more complicated studies would look at objects that speed up or slow down, where forces have to be acting.
There are also more complex movements when an object's direction is changing. These would involve curved movements such as circular motion, or the motion of a ball being thrown through the air. For such complex motions to occur, forces must also be acting, but at angles to the movement.
In order to really understand motion, you have to think about forces, acceleration, energy, work, and mass. These are all a part of mechanics.
Forces of Nature
Forces are a big part of physics. Physicists devote a lot of time to the study of forcesthat are found everywhere in the universe. The forces could be big, such as the pull of a star on a planet. The forces could also be very small, such as the pull of a nucleus on an electron. Forces are acting everywhere in the universe at all times.
Examples of Force
If you were a ball sitting on a field and someone kicked you, a force would have acted on you. As a result, you would go bouncing down the field. There are often many forces at work. Physicists might not study them all at the same time, but even if you were standing in one place, you would have many forces acting on you. Those forces would include gravity, the force of air particles hitting your body from all directions (as well as from wind), and the force being exerted by the ground (called the normal force).
Let's look at the forces acting on that soccer ball before you kicked it. As it sat there, the force of gravity was keeping it on the ground, while the ground pushed upward, supporting the ball. On a molecular level, the surface of the ball was holding itself together as the gas inside of the ball tried to escape. There may have also been small forces trying to push it as the wind blew. Those forces were too small to get it rolling, but they were there. And you never know what was under the ball. Maybe an insect was stuck under the ball trying to push it up. That's another force to consider.
