Over three centuries ago Newton proposed his three laws of motion in his book "Principia Mathematica Philosophiae Naturalis"(https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/newton.html). Since Newton proposed these laws in 1686, we have come a long way in technology and philosophy(https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/newton.html). Yet, these laws have withstood the test of time, and continue to dictate the way objects move. That, in and of itself, should be a sentiment to just how large an achievement these laws really are. They are described as follows. First Law Newton’s first law is “An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force”, according to teachertech.rice.edu . This can be summed up as an when an object is at rest, in a scenario with no force, it will not move; and when an object is moving with no force on it, it will move at a constant speed with no deviation. It is frequently referred to as the law of inertia, inertia being defined as an object’s tendency not to deviate from its current state. Take Figure 1 at the bottom of the page. The force between the two skaters is equal, so neither of them are in motion; where as in figure two, the force is unbalanced, one of 500N and the other of 450N. This is causing the team on the left to drag the other team, and cause movement. Second Law Newton’s second law is quoted as “Acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass. The greater the mass (of the object being accelerated) the greater the amount of force needed (to accelerate the object)”(teachertech.rice.edu). In other words, the heavier the object, the more work required to move it. Newton’s second law can also be expressed as an equation: the force required to move the object equals mass of the object times the acceleration, or F=ma. However, yet again this only applies in a perfect scenario; if the mass of an object is changing for instance, this rule does not apply. For example, look at figure three. Given that we have the mass of the block and the force being applied to it in the form of tension, we could calculate the acceleration using the formula, and figure out how fast the block is accelerating at a specific moment in time. Third Law Newton’s third law is his last, and it states “For every action there is an equal and opposite re-action”(teachertech.rice.edu). This law is fairly self explanatory and simple enough in diction for most to be able to interpret; but it is arguably the most important. Newton’s third law has many applications to everyday scenarios, a good example of this involving a boat. Say you are in a boat: the sky is completely clear and there is no wind. You decide that you can provide your own wind to the sail of your boat, simply, by blowing into it. Many have tried and failed to do this, and the reason for this failure lies in Newton’s third law of motion. When you blow into the sail of your own boat, the air from your mouth may be exerting force on the sail, however, you are also being forced backward yourself. Because the force of you being pushed backward is equal to the force of the sail being pushed forward; you won’t go anywhere. This can also be related back to Newton’s second law, as if Force=Mass times Acceleration, and your boat weighs a lot, you are gonna need a lot more force to get your boat accelerating; and because objects at rest tend to stay at rest, this could be quite difficult. Now take figure 4, the reaction of the Firebird putting power to the wheels is it moving forward(despite an obvious lack of traction). This forward motion is an equal and opposite reaction of hitting the gas.
Look here to watch the Mythbusters attempt to blow their own sail, and prove it cannot be done: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKXMTzMQWjo