2025/08/04 by Indresh Yadav, Yadav, Indresh, P. M. Geethu +1 · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Physics and Astronomy · #Absoluteness #Ambiguity #CLARITY #Context (archaeology) #Entropy (arrow of time) #Experimental and Theoretical Physics Studies #FOS: Physical sciences #Historical Philosophy and Science #History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph) #Interpretation (philosophy) #Locality #Relativity and Gravitational Theory #Second law of thermodynamics #Value (mathematics) #physics.hist-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2508.02246
published in arXiv (Cornell University) (Cornell University)
openalex publication_date 2025/08/04 · arxiv published 2025/08/04 · arxiv updated 2025/08/04 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Newtons Laws of Motion form the basis of classical mechanics, but misconceptions about their interrelationships persist in pedagogy. A prevalent misunderstanding is that Newtons First Law is a trivial consequence of the Second Law. This paper argues that the First Law serves a logically distinct foundational role that defines the context in which the Second Law is valid. This conceptual distinction is clarified through classical thought experiments and further supported by insights from relativistic mechanics. Furthermore, the paper discusses the notion of the zeroth Law. It evaluates several candidates, including the absoluteness of space and time, the conservation and additivity of mass, and the locality of force in time. By articulating the details of the logical structure of Newtons Laws, this article offers theoretical clarity and pedagogical value for the teaching and interpretation of Newtonian mechanics.