> Well, F = ma was a bad example, I grant you. It's actually a definition of what a force is, nothing more.
Although I would agree that it's fair to say "F=ma is a definition of what a force is", I think of it more as a law of physics than as a definition.
I would also add that Newton's second law is more than merely the statement F=ma.
The original formulation is:
Law II: The alteration of motion is ever proportional to the motive force impress'd; and is made in the direction of the right line in which that force is impress'd. [1]
So in addition to stating what the word force means, the second law is also saying there are these things called forces which move things in a certain direction.
The way I think of F=ma personally, is that it means the laws of physics are associated with differential equations. So for me, the statement F=ma implies a huge number of other things, since without also having made the assumption that the laws of physics can be described in terms of vector calculus, the definition of force is rather useless and uninteresting.
Although I would agree that it's fair to say "F=ma is a definition of what a force is", I think of it more as a law of physics than as a definition.
I would also add that Newton's second law is more than merely the statement F=ma.
The original formulation is:
Law II: The alteration of motion is ever proportional to the motive force impress'd; and is made in the direction of the right line in which that force is impress'd. [1]
So in addition to stating what the word force means, the second law is also saying there are these things called forces which move things in a certain direction.
The way I think of F=ma personally, is that it means the laws of physics are associated with differential equations. So for me, the statement F=ma implies a huge number of other things, since without also having made the assumption that the laws of physics can be described in terms of vector calculus, the definition of force is rather useless and uninteresting.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton%27s_laws_of_motion#Newt...