Contact & Non Contact Forces

• Force


  A push or pull that acts on an object due to its interaction with another object
• Newtons


  The unit used to measure force
• Forces

  • Have both magnitude (measured in newtons) and direction (e.g. to the right)
• Types of forces

  • Contact forces
  • Non-contact forces
• Contact forces


  • Require the two objects to be physically touching
• Normal contact force


  Also known as the reaction force, it is the force exerted upwards by a surface to counteract the weight of an object on it
• Non-contact forces


  • Do not require the two objects to be touching
• Types of non-contact forces

  • Gravitational force
  • Magnetic force
  • Electrostatic force
• Fields of influence


  The surrounding area where non-contact forces can act on objects
• As the distance between objects increases

  The strength of non-contact forces decreases