Action and reaction forces are always equal and opposite.
According to Newton’s third law, there is an equal (in size) and opposite (in direction) reaction force for every action force. Forces always come in pairs known as action-reaction force pairs.
- The action and reaction force always act on different objects.
- Two forces acting on the same object, even if they have the same magnitude and point in the opposite direction, never form an action-reaction pair.
- Newton’s third law’s two features are the forces exerted (the action and reaction) are always equal in magnitude but opposite in direction. Second, these forces are acting on different bodies or systems.