Newton’s Laws of Motion in the Harry Potter Stories

This century is commonly referred to as the century of science and technology (Popkova and Gulzat 336-245). As technology is an inseparable component of human life, it is essential to be aware that technological advancement is formed and explained by the laws of physics, being the most essential field of all science (Guido). Isaac Newton, an English scientist, and mathematician developed the laws of motion that are now known as Newton’s laws in 1687. These laws are considered to be among the most fundamental in all of the physics laws. Newton’s laws are three physical rules that describe the interaction between an object and the external forces impacting it. These laws were developed by Newton to explain how bodies move in response to external forces (Mahajan ix). These rules, taken as a whole, are credited with laying the groundwork for both classical mechanics and current quantum physics.

According to Newton’s first law, a body tends to remain in its initial state unless an external force causes a disturbance. The second law states that a body’s acceleration, when observed from an inertial reference frame, is directly proportional to the force subjected to it and inversely related to its mass. This law describes the relationship between acceleration and force. The third law states that when two objects in a collision, the force that is exerted by one object A on another object B must be equal in magnitude and must act in the opposite direction to the force that is exerted by object B on object A.

Isaac Newton is credited with fundamentally altering people’s conceptions of the physical universe and making significant contributions to the growth of current quantum physics through his work explaining how objects move in response to the action of additional forces in addition to gravity. The three laws of motion, in addition to explaining human everyday routines, allow for major contributions toward significant inventions such as airbags, aircraft, and guns, as well as significant theories that transform how the world is perceived.

These major contributions can be made possible by the laws of motion. J.K. Rowling discusses how wizards live in parallel with muggles on the same planet (Fitzgerald). As a result of this, Newton’s three laws of motion hold in the Wizarding world through actions that occur daily, including Quidditch, traveling, and casting spells (Rowling, Quidditch Through the Ages). This paper will seek to describe how Newton’s Laws of motion are implemented in Harry Potter.

The first law of motion discovered by Isaac Newton is often known as the law of inertia. People, in general, had the misconception, before the discovery of the law of inertia, that the reason a thing slows down is because of the way it was constructed naturally. However, the first law of Newton states that the velocity of an item will decrease due to the presence of external forces such as friction, gravity, and the resistance of the air (Tait 28).

These forces will cause the velocity to decrease. In a similar vein, the Quaffle, a game played in the wizarding world, is a fantastic illustration of the law of inertia since it remains stationary until one of the players takes it up and attempts to throw it into the target (Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone). Even if sorcerers like wizards and witches have the power to use magic to make things move or transport themselves from one location to another, in general, following the inertial frame, the force of gravity, friction, or air resistance still affects the world in which they live.

The link between force, acceleration, mass, and change in motion is explained by Newton’s second law. According to this law, force is the product of an object’s mass and acceleration. As a result, the acceleration rises when the force rises, or the mass of the object falls when the force rises, and vice versa (Tait 29). The application of Newton’s second law may also be seen in one of the most common modes of transportation in the Wizarding world, broomsticks. Broomsticks act similarly to planes by combining lift, propulsion, and drag forces. The wizard must exert power on a broomstick for it to be activated by using the command “Up!” (Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone).

The broomstick is kept afloat by the combination of the broomstick’s purpose and the rider’s application of force, which overcomes the pull of gravity. Although the contents of broomsticks remain a mystery, it is most likely that Newton’s second law served as the inspiration for this common mode of transportation in the wizarding realm. Newton’s first law and second law consequently have a big impact on transportation in both the wizarding realm and the actual world.

The third law of Newton provides a thorough explanation of how forces interact. According to this law, forces always occur in pairs, and there is an equal and opposite reaction to every action (Tait 30). When Voldemort tried to kill Harry in Godric’s Hollow, he used his potential energy to cast a curse on him, creating an exterior force that clashed with an uneven internal force produced by Harry Potter (Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows). Due to the principles of conservation, the collision produces equal and opposing reaction forces that accelerate in the opposite direction, causing Voldemort to disappear and Harry to develop a scar on his forehead resembling a lightning bolt.

Newton’s laws of motion continue to be applicable in the modern world of engineering and technology. The understanding of the law of inertia has helped in developing safety gadgets in automobiles. These include safety belts and airbags which reduce the power of inertia in case of a crash or unexpected acceleration or deceleration. Understanding momentum has played a major role in helping in the manufacture of aircraft where aerodynamics is essential (Landel-Mills 1). The third law has been used to study impulse where action and reaction come into play. A perfect example is in military applications where the recoil of a gun (Li et al.) has to be accounted for in ensuring the safety of the personnel handling them. There has been much development in these laws but they continue to provide a foundation on which the study of the science of forces can be developed.

Harry Potter’s storyline seems to defy nature and science due to its approach to magic and extraterrestrial forces. The tale incorporates some aspects of exaggeration for entertainment purposes whereby some occurrences are scientifically and practically impossible. However, the storyline despite the exaggerations is based on scientific theories such as Newton’s Laws of motion. There is an aspect of all three laws being manifested in magic. Thus, this portrays Newton’s Laws as a fundamental law in the quest of humans to interpret magic and other natural forces.

Works Cited

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Landell-Mills, N. “Why the vertical lift generated by a wing quadruples if horizontal aircraft velocity doubles.” Pre-Print DOI 10 (2019).

Li, Huibin, Yaojian Li, and Hua Li. “Simulation on Dynamics of the Recoil and Counter-Recoil Movement of the Gun Recoil System.” International Conference on Decision Science & Management. Springer, Singapore, 2021.

Mahajan, Sanjoy. A Student’s Guide to Newton’s Laws of Motion. Cambridge University Press, 2020.

Popkova, Elena G., and Kantoro Gulzat. “Technological revolution in the 21 st century: digital society vs. artificial intelligence.” Institute of Scientific Communications Conference. Springer, Cham, 2019.

Rowling, Joanne. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” Bloomsbury Children’s Books and Scholastic, 2007.

Rowling, Joanne. “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.” Bloomsbury Children’s Books and Scholastic, 1997.

Rowling, Joanne. “Quidditch Through the Ages.” Bloomsbury Children’s Books and Scholastic, 2001.

Tait, Peter Guthrie. Newton’s Laws of Motion. A. & C. Black, 1899.