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
• Vector quantities


  Quantities that have both magnitude and direction
• 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 equal and opposite force exerted by a surface to keep an object in position
• 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