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3 answers

1. the rocket - the action is hot gas exhaust going out the rocket nozzles and the reaction is the hot gases exerting a force on the rocket nozzle giving it the push so the nozzle it turn will push the rocket.
2. birds - the action is wings flapping and pushing the air. The reaction is the air pushes back on the wings which in turn pushes the bird.
3. swimmer - the action is the swimmer's arms and legs push the water. The reaction is the water pushes back the arms and legs which in turn pushes the swimmer.
Note that in 2 and 3, the bird and swimmer has vertical forces in balance. The bird's wings produce lift by bernouli's
principle to neutralize gravity's downward force. The swimmer's bouyancy force negates gravity's sinking force.
(assuming that the swimmer floats instead of sink).

2007-08-16 06:52:23 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Launching a Rocket -

The action is the force produced by the burning of the fuel within the rocket. This creates a force downwards towards the earths surface if the rocket is going vertical.

The reaction is the force of the earth pushing upwards on the rocket. This is equal if the rocket is going at a steady speed or greater than the rocket if it is accelerating.

Bird Flying -

The action of the flapping of the birds wings pushing air down towards the earth. This lifts the birds if the lift force is larger than the birds weight.

The reaction is the force from the earth pushing upwards on the bird. As reaction forces are always opposite and equal it means the birds can maintain lift.

Swimmer Swimming -

The action is the force exerted by the swimmer on the water. For example in front crawl the drag force created by the swimmers arms to swim.

The reaction is the force on the swimmer from the water which is equal and opposite. This is the resistance felt when swimming.

2007-08-13 00:21:21 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

There is no pushback from the Earth, or from its atmosphere, to a rocket. That's why rockets do just fine in orbit and far from Earth. The pushback is from the propellant exhaust. The reaction is the equal & opposite inertial force that results from pushing on the exhaust gas mass and accelerating it to high speed. Of course a downward-directed exhaust plume eventually loses its momentum to the surrounding air and the Earth, but these forces do not reach back to the rocket. (Note: Even The New York Times once believed in the atmosphere pushback idea, claiming that the rocket pioneer Robert Goddard was a fraud for supposing that a rocket could function outside the atmosphere, without any air to push against. See the ref.).
The situation is slightly different for birds and swimmers. They also obtain reaction forces from pushing on something, but in this case the something is the air or water mass they're moving through, not a mass they carry onboard as in the case of a rocket. However the net effect is the same; accelerate something backward or downward and the reaction force pushes you forward or upward.

2007-08-13 08:31:59 · answer #3 · answered by kirchwey 7 · 0 0

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