Abstract
Physics students are rarely exposed to the style of thinking that goes into theoretical developments in physics until late in their education. In this work, we present an alternative to the traditional statement of Newton’s second law that makes theory questions accessible to students early in their undergraduate studies. Rather than a contrived example, the model considered here arises from a popular framework for testing Lorentz symmetry used extensively in contemporary experiments. Hence, this work also provides an accessible introduction to some key ideas in ongoing tests of fundamental symmetries in physics.
Highlights
IntroductionIs Newton’s second law obvious? Some introductory physics students respond in the affirmative
Is Newton’s second law obvious? Some introductory physics students respond in the affirmative.The idea that a force applied to a body results in an acceleration in proportion to the mass of the body seems to them a clear description of the way nature must work
Though we develop the model from basic Newtonian-physics considerations, we arrive at the Newtonian limit of a quantum-field-theory based test framework known as the Standard-Model
Summary
Is Newton’s second law obvious? Some introductory physics students respond in the affirmative. The SME has been used extensively in searching for violations of Lorentz symmetry (invariance under boosts as well as rotations) in nature [4] with the goal of finding evidence of new physics, such as string theory [5,6]. These assumptions are tested against experimental and observational data to see if the theory so constructed is a description of a physical effect It is sometimes hard for students and physicists alike to see theories like Newton’s laws, which have been around a long time, as fitting this form.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call