Newton's Laws & Heels

Newton's Three Laws of Physics:
1. Objects will remain at rest or traveling at constant speed unless acted upon by a force.
2. Force = Mass x Acceleration
3. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Newton's physical laws describe the forces acting on a body, and how they relate to each motion.  All bodies, including the human, are affected by these three laws.

Let's look at Newton's 2nd Law, Pressure = Force / Area.  In the case of individuals wearing high heels, all the body weight is applied to the ground through the total surface area in contact with the ground.  Since stiletto heels have such a small surface area (about 1/16 of a square inch), this pressure that is applied is enormous!  Comparatively, an elephant's foot has a surface area of about 40 square inches.  Therefore, even though the body has a much greater mass, it's pressure exerted is smaller since it has a wider area to disperse.

Let's look at Newton's 3rd Law, the pressure we put on the ground gets put back on us.  Since one is wearing a stiletto heel, the pressure the ground puts back goes through a very small area as well.  This makes wearing heels of this design a balancing act (between the forces of the ground and the forces of gravity).