Isaac Newton and His Laws of Motion

Outside of the apocryphal story of the apple tree, Sir Isaac Newton is probably best known for his three laws of motion. This build gives a steampunk-style vibe to a device called a Newton Car that encapsulates all three laws of motion.

Law 1: An object at rest will stay at rest and an object in motion will stay in motion until acted upon by an outside force.

Nothing happens until the button is pressed, adding an outside force to the equation. The car slows and eventually stops due to the outside force of friction.

This is best seen when comparing the two videos. When a larger mass is ejected, the car moves further.

Law 3: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

As the car applies a force to the box to eject it, the box also applies a force on the car and it rolls forward. The difference in the distance each travels is due to the difference in mass.