Can the net force of an object be zero?

Answer 1

If there is zero net force, then any force acting upon the object is countered by a force equal in magnitude, and opposite in direction.

For instance, an object on a level plane has zero net force, as it is being pushed down by gravity, at a rate of 9.8 meters per second per second [(m/s)/s], and is being pushed back up by the plane at the same rate.

If you were to add a breeze from the north that impacted and created a force that was the mass of the object times 2 (m/s)/s, and yet the object still did not move, that means that there is still zero net force, as friction is now pushing north at the exact same rate as the wind is pushing south.

Answer 2

The forces are in opposing directions. For example, a car moving on a freeway at

a constant speed applying a certain force forward has a net force of zero because

the force of air friction is equal to the forward force. If the car was accelerating or

braking, the net force would not be zero. Another example: for an object in free

fall at terminal velocity (not accelerating), the force of gravity downwards equals

the force of air resistance upwards. The two forces cancel out and the result is

an even zero.

Another example, easier to grasp . . .

A collegiate tug-of-war. Several members of the football team pulling one end of

the rope north, and the entire Cheerleading squad pulling the other end of the

rope south. The little hankie dangling from the center of the rope is not moving

at all, because the north force and the south force are exactly equal and they

add up to zero. The net external force on the rope is zero, and although there's

some killer tension in it, the rope as a whole remains at rest.

Answer 3

When the forces working on an object cancel each other out (i.e. the net force is 0 N) the acceleration of the object is also zero IF you are in an inertial (i.e. non-accelerating) reference frame. This follows from Newton's First Law (and, incidentally, also his second).

If you are not in a inertial frame objects may appear to accelerate without any discernible cause. An example would be if you were standing in a carousel and threw a ball away. The trajectory of the ball would suffer from fictitious forces such as the Coriolis force.

Answer 4

It means

-- the vector sum of all individual forces on it is zero;

-- the effect of all the forces is the same as if there were no forces acting on it;

-- the forces on the object are said to be 'balanced'.

Examples:

-- 30 tough guys pulling on one end of a rope, 30 other tough guys pulling

in the opposite direction on the other end of the rope, and the rope going

nowhere;

-- two little girls pulling hard on the same doll, and the doll not moving;

-- two strong shoppers pulling hard in opposite directions on the same

shopping cart, and not moving it.

Answer 5

the net force acting on an object is zero. what is it

Answer 6

Yes. Net Force = mass * acceleration. If net force = 0, then mass * acceleration = 0. Since mass can't equal 0, acceleration must be 0.

Answer 7

Yes it can. That means the force is balanced and it will not move if at rest and not change velocity if in motion (since there is no acceleration).

Answer 8

With a net force of zero, the object will not accelerate - in other words, it will remain at rest.

Answer 9

The object is not accelerating.