Most people are 'Aristotlean" in their concept of mechanics.  Explain
why this might be so, and give a real life example of motion that
seems to prove Aristotle right.  Now explain this motion from a
Newtonian perspective

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Clarification of Question by diala-ga on 07 Oct 2004 20:25 PDT

I need an answere as soon as possible please

Newtonian mechanics embody the familiar laws that "a body remains in
motion at a constant velocity unless acted on by a force," etc.
Aristotle, I believe, taught that a body can only move if acted on by
a force.

So if I push a book across a table by exerting a constant force
against it, thereby making it move at a constant speed, this directly
supports Aristotelian mechanics. Of course Aristotle had no concept of
friction. The (correct) Newtonian interpretation of the same
experiment is that I exert a certain force in the direction of motion
which is balanced by an equal force of friction in the opposite
direction; thus the book slides at a constant velocity because there
is in fact no net force acting on it.

Hope this helps.