section_path: Newtonian mechanics/Defining "force"
section_name: Defining "force"
paragraph_text: Defining "force"
  
  Some textbooks use Newton's second law as a definition of force. However, for the equation F = m a {\displaystyle \mathbf {F} =m\mathbf {a} } for a constant mass m {\displaystyle m} to then have any predictive content, it must be combined with further information. Moreover, inferring that a force is present because a body is accelerating is only valid in an inertial frame of reference. The question of which aspects of Newton's laws to take as definitions and which to regard as holding physical content has been answered in various ways, which ultimately do not affect how the theory is used in practice. Notable physicists, philosophers and mathematicians who have sought a more explicit definition of the concept of force include Ernst Mach and Walter Noll.