5.1.6

Contact & Non-Contact Forces

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Contact and Non-contact Forces

A force is a push or a pull that acts on an object when it interacts with another object. All forces between objects are either:

Illustrative background for Contact forcesIllustrative background for Contact forces ?? "content

Contact forces

  • Contact forces happen when two objects are physically touching.
    • Friction, air resistance, tension and normal contact force are all examples of contact forces.
Illustrative background for Non-contact forcesIllustrative background for Non-contact forces ?? "content

Non-contact forces

  • Non-contact forces happen when objects are separated (not touching).
    • Gravitational force, electrostatic force and magnetic force are all examples of non-contact forces.

Jump to other topics

1Energy

2Electricity

3Particle Model of Matter

4Atoms & Radiation

5Forces

5.1Basics of Motion

5.2Forces

5.3Effects of Forces

5.4Pressure

6Waves

7Magnetism

8Astrophysics

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