Newton's Third Law. A student in elementary physics finds himself in the middle of a large ice rink with a small but finite coefficient of friction between his feet and the ice. He has been taught Newton's Third Law. Since the law says that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, all forces add up to zero. Therefore he assumes that there will be no force possible to accelerate him toward the side of the rink and so he must stay at the center. (a) How do you tell him to get to the side?

Newton's Third Law. A student in elementary physics finds himself in the middle of a large ice rink with a small but finite coefficient of friction between his feet and the ice. He has been taught Newton's Third Law. Since the law says that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, all forces add up to zero. Therefore he assumes that there will be no force possible to accelerate him toward the side of the rink and so he must stay at the center. (a) How do you tell him to get to the side?