nettokracht

Nettokracht is the Dutch term for the net force: the vector sum of all external forces acting on a body. It represents the overall cause of the motion of the object and is a vector quantity, meaning both magnitude and direction matter. Forces such as gravity, normal forces, friction, applied pushes or pulls, drag, tension, and constraint forces all contribute to the nettokracht.

According to Newton's second law, the nettokracht on a mass m equals the product of m and its acceleration a: F_net = m a. If F_net = 0, the object is in translational equilibrium and will not accelerate. If F_net ≠ 0, the object accelerates in the direction of the nettokracht.

Calculation: to find nettokracht, sum all force vectors acting on the object. In components: F_x = Σ F_ix, F_y = Σ F_iy, F_z = Σ F_iz. Then F_net is the vector sum of these components, with magnitude √(F_x^2 + F_y^2 + F_z^2) and direction given by the appropriate angle in the coordinate system. A simple one-dimensional example: a box pulled by 8 N to the right and 5 N to the left has F_net = 3 N to the right, producing acceleration a = F_net / m.

Nettokracht is distinct from nettotorque, which is the net torque causing angular acceleration. The concept is central to dynamics, statics, and engineering analyses.