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h1. Contact Force

{excerpt}A [force] that arises when one macroscopic body presses against another.{excerpt}

h3. Motivation for Concept

When one macroscopic body encounters another, the bodies cannot simply pass through each other.  Instead, their contact results in a change in the motion of each body.  

h3. Special Cases

Because contact forces are so common in mechanics, there are several important special cases of contact forces that are commonly encountered.

h4.  [Applied Force|applied force]: {excerpt-include:applied force|nopanel=true}  When a person purposefully presses against another object, the resulting contact force is often called an applied force.

h4. [Collision Forces|collision forces]: {excerpt-include:collision forces|nopanel=true}

h4. [Friction|friction]: {excerpt-include:friction|nopanel=true}

h4.  [Normal Force|normal force]: {excerpt-include:normal force}

An object in contact with a surface will always be subject to a contact force that has a component perpendicular to the surface.  That perpendicular component guarantees that the object will not pass through the surface.  It receives the special name of [normal force], derived from the mathematical meaning of normal (perpendicular).|nopanel=true}




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