Anti-Newtonian dynamics

J. C. Sprott
Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, 1150 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53706

(Received 20 April 2009; accepted 2 June 2009)

ABSTRACT

This paper describes a world in which Newton’s first and second laws hold, but Newton’s third law takes the form that the forces between any two objects are equal in magnitude and direction. The dynamics for such a system exhibit curious and unfamiliar features including chaos for two bodies in two spatial dimensions.

Ref: J. C. Sprott, Am. J. Phys. 77, 783-787 (2009)

The complete paper is available in PDF format.

See also animations of these cases.

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Fig. 1. Limit cycle of a rabbit and a fox in a one-dimensional chase.
Fig. 1



Fig. 2. Quasiperiodic trajectory of a rabbit and a fox in a two-dimensional chase with no dissipation (animation).
Fig. 2



Fig. 3. Quasiperiodic trajectory of a rabbit and a fox in a two-dimensional chase with dissipation (animation).
Fig. 3



Fig. 4. Chaotic trajectory of a rabbit and a fox in a two-dimensional chase with dissipation (animation).
Fig. 4



Fig. 5. Chaotic trajectory of a rabbit being chased by two identical foxes with dissipation (animation).
Fig. 5