Reaction (physics)
The third of Newton's laws of motion of classical mechanics states that forces always occur in pairs. This is related to the fact that a force results from the interaction of two objects. Every force ('action') on one object is accompanied by a 'reaction' on another, of equal magnitude but opposite direction. The attribution of which of the two forces is action or reaction is arbitrary. Each of the two forces can be considered the action, the other force is its associated reaction.
Read more about Reaction (physics): Misconceptions
Famous quotes containing the word reaction:
“Sole and self-commanded works,
Fears not undermining days,
Grows by decays,
And, by the famous might that lurks
In reaction and recoil,
Makes flames to freeze, and ice to boil.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)