Its word comes from the Latin fortia . Force is the ability to perform physical work or movement, as well as the power or effort to support a body or resist a push. The effects that a force can have are that a body becomes deformed (for example, if we squeeze or stretch a piece of gum); that a body remains at rest (for example, to keep a bridge stretched, you have to exert force on it), and that its state of motion changes (either when the object is static, or accelerate or slow it down when it is moving).
In the field of physics, force is a vector quantity, and it is any cause capable of changing the state of rest or movement of a body. The force acting on an object of mass m is equal to the variation of the linear momentum (or momentum) of said object with respect to time. The unit of force in the International System (SI) is the newton, symbol N. The concept of force is usually explained mathematically in terms of Newton's three laws of motion.
In a force, different determining features can be taken into account: the point of application (point of the body on which the force is exerted); the direction (line on which the force induces the body to move); the sense (orientation of the force) and the intensity (measure of the force with respect to an established unit).
There are two types of forces; those that act by contact, where the body that exerts the force is in direct contact with the body on which it is applied, for example: throwing a stone, pulling a rope, etc. And those that act at a distance, here the body the body that exerts the force is not in contact with the body on which it is applied, for example: the force of magnetic attraction, the force with which the Earth attracts bodies, etc..
