What Is Inertia?

A long time ago there lived a really smart guy named Galileo Galilei.
Galileo was a great scientist, with interests in physics, math, astronomy,
and philosophy. One of his most important contributions to the scientific
world was a discovery he made about moving objects.

Earlier, another famous guy, Aristotle, had said that there were two kinds
of motion: natural and unnatural. He believed that natural motion
occurred without a force - things like the sun, the moon, and other, similar
types of objects in the sky moved without anything pushing or pulling
them. Unnatural motion then, was motion that required a force -
something pushing or pulling the object to make it move.

But Galileo discovered that this was, in fact, not correct! Galileo said that,
yes, a force was needed in order to get an object moving, but once that
object was moving it would keep moving even with no force acting on it.
Through various experiments, he was able to show that all objects have
the tendency to remain as they are - either at rest or in motion. This
property is called inertia, and it's not a force, rather it is the property of
matter to resist changes in motion.

So if an object is moving, it resists not moving, and if it's stationary, it

resists movement. That's inertia! This was a great discovery indeed. But, a
little while later, another great scientist named Isaac Newton came along
(the guy under the apple tree) and refined Galileo's idea of inertia. Galileo
was concerned with how things moved, Newton was interested in why
things moved.

Newton's work gave Galileo's concept of inertia the status of a scientific

law, his first law, usually called the law of inertia. This law states that
'every object continues in its state of rest or of uniform speed in a straight
line unless acted on by a net force.' In summary, objects at rest stay at
rest, and objects in motion stay in motion unless a force changes their
state.

Inertia is pretty cool stuff. You know that famous trick of pulling a table
cloth out from under dishes on a table? The dishes don't fall off the table
because of inertia - they're at rest so that's how they stay! Satellites in
orbit stay in orbit because they are already moving - no force acts on
them to stop them from doing so.
There's a caveat here, though. Friction is a force that affects motion.
You've experienced friction plenty of times; that burn you feel sliding down
a metal slide is friction between your skin and the slide. When you rub
your hands together there's friction between them. Your car stops at a red
light because your foot pushes your brake parts together, creating friction.
Friction occurs for solids, liquids, and gases, and acts in the direction that
is opposite to the direction of motion. The amount of friction depends on
the surface of the objects moving against each other, so it's an important
factor in the movement (or rest) of objects.

Newton, Motion And Force

It is easy to recognize an object in motion and an object at rest. Super-
sonic jets, race cars and even my mini-van can be objects in motion or at
rest. What keeps an object at rest or in motion? What causes an object at
rest to move? Furthermore, what causes an object in motion to stop? Well,
the short answer to these questions is force, which is any influence that
causes an object to change its shape or motion.

Isaac Newton developed scientific laws regarding motion and force

Isaac Newton Image
For example, I must apply force to move a heavy object, such as my chair
or a set of dumbbells. In fact, I have to apply a force, albeit not as much,
to move even a lighter object, such as my pencil. If I press down on a ball
of clay, the force of my hand causes the clay to change its shape. In this
lesson, we will explore the relationship between force and motion as
explained by Newton's laws.

What Is Newton's First Law Of Motion?

Newton's first law of motion states that an object at rest remains at rest
and an object in motion remains in motion with the same velocity unless
acted upon by what we call an unbalanced force. Let's break this law
down by defining some key terms. Velocity is the speed of an object in a
specified direction. An unbalanced force is an external force that changes
the motion of an object. When an object is at rest or moving at a constant
velocity, all the forces acting on it are balanced.
For example, my cup of coffee is resting on my kitchen table as I make
this lesson. The force of gravity pulling down is balanced by the force of
my kitchen table pushing up on my cup of coffee. Now, if I am to move my
coffee, I must apply an external force to disrupt the balance. Thank
goodness my muscles are strong enough to apply such a force so I can
enjoy my cup of coffee. Ah, now that's good joe! Newton's first law of
motion is also referred to as the law of inertia. Inertia is simply the
resistance to change in motion. In short, objects tend to keep doing what
they are already doing.

Application Of Newton's First Law Of Motion

The external force of the hand will move the cup by creating unbalanced
forces
External Force Cup Example
There are plenty of applications to Newton's first law of motion. Consider a
car moving west along a highway with a constant velocity of 65 miles per
hour. What happens when the driver takes his foot off the gas pedal?
According to Newton's first law of motion, the car should remain at a
velocity of 65 mph, as long as the forces are balanced. As we have
witnessed, however, the car slows down, and it comes to rest. This
observation begs the question: what external forces act on the car to stop

its motion?

The answer is friction. Friction is a force acting in the opposite direction of

motion when two objects come into contact with each other. Without
external forces, the car would continue to move west at 65 mph. Now,
consider a golfer hitting a ball off the tee. While the ball is on the tee, it is
said to be at rest. That is, it has no motion. Once the swinging club comes
into contact with the ball, the club applies an external force, disrupts the
state of balance and sends the ball flying into motion.
How Does Newton's Law Apply To Liquids?
Now, I like coffee, so let's see how Newton's law of motion applies to
drinking coffee and driving. While the car is at rest, or even moving at a
constant velocity, so is the coffee, and it stays in the cup. But what
happens to the coffee if you increase velocity in a forward direction? The
coffee keeps doing what it has been doing and ends up in your lap; that is,
assuming there is no lid on the cup. Let's break it down.

When you push on the gas pedal, the wheels spin. However, the road
applies a force to the wheels and pushes the car forward. The back of the
seat applies a force to your back and pushes you forward as well. But
what about the coffee? The coffee maintains its velocity at 65 mph, and
your lap actually moves forward into the coffee. Ouch!

Dizziness occurs when blood in the body keeps moving down after the
elevator stops
Inertia Elevator Example
Just the opposite happens when we hit the car's breaks. The brakes slow
or even stop the spinning of the wheels. When braking from a constant
velocity of 65 mph, the coffee tends to maintain its velocity of 65 mph,
and now it's going to end up on the dash of your car. The coffee
experiences inertia when we brake to a stop. The coffee resists the
change in motion and keeps moving forward.

Likewise, we experience inertia when braking the car. You may feel
yourself tend to slide forward in your seat when braking to a stop. In
reality, you're simply doing what you were already doing, and the seat is
moving backwards, relative to your body. You would continue to slide
forward in your seat unless your seat belt is in place to apply an external
force to your body.

How Does Newton's Law Apply To Our Body?

We can apply Newton's law of inertia to body functions. Have you ever
experienced a dizzy feeling after coming to a stop in a descending
elevator? Better hold on to the railing! Our body and all its contents move
down along with the elevator. Once the elevator comes to a sudden stop,
the floor of the elevator applies an external force to our body, causing it to
come to a stop as well.
However, the blood in our body doesn't experience this same force in the
same way. It's kind of like the coffee. The blood tends to keep moving
down even after the elevator comes to a stop. The blood descends away
from our head, and this temporary loss of blood to the brain causes us to
feel dizzy. So, again - hold on!

Does Newton's Law Apply In Space?

The lack of gravity in space lets objects stay in a constant state of motion
Newtons Motion Law in Space
Newton's first law of motion is evident in space as well as it is on earth.
The International Space Station orbits the earth at about 200 miles with a
velocity of 17,500 mph. Now that is fast! Astronauts can step out of the
space station and remain right next to it, as they will continue to orbit with
the same velocity. Additionally, astronauts can set their tools next to them
in space, and they will continue to orbit at the same velocity.

Don't try this at home! Don't try it in a plane. Don't try it in a car, even if
it's going a lot slower! Why? Well, there we have external forces - for
example, gravity - and they will disrupt the constant motion, sending your
body tumbling to the ground. The force of gravity is negligible in space, so
the objects continue their constant state of motion. Apparently, they all
seem to be sitting still because they're not moving relative to each other.

Lesson Summary
Let's summarize. Newton's first law of motion states that an object at rest
remains at rest and an object in motion remains in motion at a constant
velocity unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. Velocity is the speed
of an object in a specified direction. Force is any influence that causes an
object to change its shape or its state of motion. An unbalanced force is
an external force that changes the state of motion of the object.
Newton's first law of motion is also referred to as the law of inertia, where
inertia is the resistance to change in motion. Newton's law of motion
applies to objects both on earth and in space

Definition
Place a book on your desk. Does the book move? Unless you move the
book, it will remain where you put it without moving (see picture below).

Imagine a spacecraft moving through space. When the engines are

turned off, the spacecraft will coast through space at the same speed
and in the same direction. The book and the spacecraft have inertia.
Inertia is the property of an object that resists changes in its motion.
Because of inertia, an object at rest tends to stay at rest. An object in
motion tends to keep moving at a constant speed in a straight line.
Newton's First Law
Newton's First Law of motion explains how inertia affects moving and
nonmoving objects. Newton's first law states that an object will remain at
rest or move at a constant speed in a straight line unless it is acted on by
an unbalanced force. Inertia comes frommass. Objects with more mass
have more inertia. To understand inertia, imagine moving a bowling ball
and golf ball which are at rest.
As shown in the picture above, a golf ball has a mass of 0.05 kilogram
and the bowling ball has a mass of five kilograms. The bowling ball has
100 times more mass than the golf ball, so it has 100 times more inertia
too. Now ask yourself which needs more force to start moving? If you
push for same distance, the bowling ball takes MUCH more force to get it
moving the same speed as the golf ball. The bowling ball needs more
force because a bowling ball has more inertia than a golf ball. The
greater an object's inertia, the greater the force needed to change its
motion.
According to Newton's first law, an unbalanced force is needed to move
the book on your desk. You could supply the force by pushing the book.
An unbalanced force is needed to change the speed or direction of the
spacecraft. This force could be supplied by the spacecraft's engines.
Because of inertia, an object at rest will remain at rest until something
causes it to move. Likewise, a moving object continues to move at the
same speed and in the same direction unless something acts on it to
change its speed or direction.
Effects Of Inertia
You can feel the effects of inertia every day. Suppose you are riding in a
car. What happens if the car comes to a sudden stop? Your body has
inertia. When the car stops, you keep in moving forward. What happens
when the car starts moving? Because of inertia, your body tends to stay
at rest when the car moves forward. In baseball, inertia tends to keep a
player running in a straight line. So base runners have to 'round' the
bases instead of making sharp turns (see picture below).
An oscillator is a physical system that has repeating cycles (harmonic
motion). A child on a swing is an oscillator, as is a vibrating guitar string.
A wagon rolling down a hill is not an oscillator.
Systems that oscillate move back and forth around a center
or equilibrium position. You can think of equilibrium as the system at
rest, undisturbed, with zero net force. A wagon rolling down a hill is not
in equilibrium because the force of gravity that causes it to accelerate is
not balanced by another force. A child sittingmotionless on a swing is in
equilibrium because the force of gravity is balanced by the tension in the

ropes.
A restoring force is any force that always acts to pull a system back
toward equilibrium. Restoring force is related to the force of gravity or
weight and the lift force (or tension) of the string of a pendulum(see the
diagram above). If a pendulum is pulled forward or backward, gravity
creates a restoring force that pulls it toward equilibrium. Systems with
restoring forces become oscillators.
Inertia causes an oscillator to go past equilibrium. The motion of an
oscillator is the result of the interaction between a restoring force and
inertia. For example, the restoring force pulls a pendulum toward
equilibrium. But, because of Newton's first law, the pendulum does not
just stop at equilibrium. According to the first law, an object in motion
tends to stay in motion. The pendulum has inertia that keeps it moving
forward so it overshoots its equilibrium position every time.
Examples
Cars and planes with more inertia take more force to accelerate (see
the picture below). Since inertia is related to mass, in order to reduce
inertia you must reduce mass. The mass of a car or plane is a trade-off
between inertia and the strength of materials of the car or plane. You
want strong materials, but you don't want them so heavy that it takes
too much energy (fuel) just to get the car or plane moving!

Seat belts could be called 'anti-inertia' belts. It tends to keep moving in a

straight line, even if the driver's foot is not on the gas pedal. Everyone
inside the car also has inertia. They are moving at the same speed as the
car.
Suppose you are riding in a car. The driver is forced to step on brakes
suddenly. Inertia keeps you moving forward at the same speed as the car
was moving. You will keep moving until something stops you. This might
be the car's steering wheel, dashboard, or windshield. You might be hurt
if you hit these parts of the car, unless you are wearing a seat belt. A
seat belt keeps you from moving forward when the car stops suddenly
(see picture below). Seat belts can prevent serious injuries. You should
always remember to 'buckle up' when you get into a car.
If you suddenly apply the brakes to your rapidly moving bicycle, you
have to brace yourself to keep from falling forward. As shown in the
picture below, if you are on a ride at an amusement park in which you
suddenly accelerated forward, your body seems to push back against the
seat.
In both cases you have demonstrated Newton's first law, the law of
inertia.
The principle or law of inertia states that a mass at rest tends to remain
at rest. A mass moving at a constant velocity tends to keep moving at
that velocity, unless acted upon by an outside force. Thus, Newton's first
law involves the problem of changing velocity, or of acceleration. For
instance, suppose you are standing still in a 'bumper car' at the
amusement park and someone drives another car into yours (see picture
below).

You will be accelerated from zero kilometers per hour to some value
greater than zero. The force of collision is able to move your car. This
unbalanced force produces acceleration. Newton's first law of motion
states that no force is needed to keep something moving in a straight
line at a constant speed. A force is needed to stop that motion or to
change it in some way. This is a description of inertia, which is a property
of all things. You are probably used to thinking that moving objects
eventually slow down by themselves. But this slowing down is the result
of forces such as friction. Without such forces, an object set moving
would move forever (see picture below).
Continue reading...

Is inertia a force? No. Forces are results of interactions between two

objects; they are not properties of single objects, so inertia cannot be a
force. Remember that because velocity includes both the speed and
direction of motion, a net force is required to change either the speed or
the direction of motion. If the net force is zero, Newton's first law means
the object will continue with the same speed and direction.
Mass is a measure of inertia because an object with a large mass is
harder to start in motion and harder to stop than an object with a smaller
mass. This is because the object with the large mass has greater inertia.
For example, imagine that you are going to push a grocery cart that has
only one potato in it. No problem, right? But suppose the grocery cart is
filled with potatoes, as in the picture below. Now the total mass - and the
inertia - of the cart full of potatoes is much greater. It will be harder to
get the cart moving and harder to stop it once it is moving.

Lesson Summary
Inertia is the tendency of an object to remain at rest or in motion.
Newton's first law of motion states that an object will remain at rest or
move at a constant speed in a straight line unless it is acted on by an
unbalanced force. The effects of inertia can be f
 One's body movement to the side when a car makes a sharp turn.
Tightening of seat belts in a car when it stops quickly.
A ball rolling down a hill will continue to roll unless friction or another force
stops it.
Men in space find it more difficult to stop moving because of a lack of gravity
acting against them.
If pulled quickly, a tablecloth can be removed from underneath of dishes. The
dishes have the tendency to remain still as long as the friction from the
movement of the tablecloth is not too great.
Shaking a bottle of ketchup. When bringing the bottom down, the suddenly
stopping it, inertia is what causes the ketchup to come out of the bottle.
When playing football, a player is tackled and his head hits the ground. The
impact stops his skull, but his brain continues to move and hit the inside of his
skull. His brain is showing inertia.
If one drove a car directly into a brick wall, the car would stop because of the
force exerted upon it by the wall. However, the driver requires a force to stop his
body from moving, such as a seatbelt, otherwise inertia will cause his body to
continue moving at the original speed until his body is acted upon by some force.
Hovercraft are vehicles that can be a challenge to manipulate because, unlike
cars, they do not have the same level of friction, so inertia causes the Hovercraft
to want to continue in its same direction without stopping or turning.
Abruptly stopping a cart with an object on top causes the object on top to fall
off. Inertia causes this by making the object want to continue moving in the
direction that it was.
If a stopped car is hit by a moving car from behind, the passengers inside may
experience whiplash as a result of the body moving forward but the head lagging
behind. The head is experiencing inertia.
If a car is moving forward it will continue to move forward unless friction or the
brakes interfere with its movement.
When a baseball is thrown it will continue to move forward until acted upon by
gravity. The greater the force of the throw, the harder it is for gravity to act upon
it.
A hockey puck will continue to slide across ice until acted upon by an outside
force.
A balloon in a car will appear to move when the car moves forward, but the
balloon is actually attempting to stay in the place it was, it is only the car that is
moving.
 When a car is abruptly accelerated, drivers and passengers may feel as
though their bodies are moving backward. In reality, inertia is making the body
want to stay in place as the car moves forward.
If an index card is placed on top of a glass with a penny on top of it, the index
card can be quickly removed while the penny falls straight into the glass, as the
penny is demonstrating inertia.
If you jump from a car of bus that is moving, your body is still moving in the
direction of the vehicle. When your feet hit the ground, the grounds act on your
feet and they stop moving. You will fall because the upper part of your body didnt
stop and you will fall in the direction you were moving.
When you stir coffee or tea and stop, the swirling motion continues due to
inertia.
Objects that establish orbit around the earth, like satellites, continue on their
trajectory due to inertia.
Inertia of rest is an object staying where it is placed and it will stay there until
you or something else moves it.
If you throw a rock straight up, it will not vary from its direction. This is an
example of inertia of direction.
Inertia enables ice skaters to glide on the ice in a straight line.
If the wind is blowing, a trees branches are moving. A piece of ripe fruit that
falls from the tree will fall in the direction the wind is moving because of inertia.
When peddling a bicycle, if you stop pedaling, the bike continues going until
friction or gravity slows it down.
When pulling a Band-Aid off, it is better to pull it fast. Your skin will remain at
rest due to inertia and the force pulls the Band-Aid off.
A car that is moving will continue even if you switch the engine off.
If a ball is on a slanted surface and you let go, gravity will make it roll down the
slope. It has inertia and if there is a level area at the bottom of the slope, it will
continue moving.
When entering a building through a rotating door, inertia will allow the door to
hit you in the back if you dont get out of the way.
If you are rolling a cart with something on top and you hit something that
makes the cart stop, what is on top may fall off.
It is harder to stop a big vehicle, like a bus, than a smaller vehicle, like a
motorcycle. There is more inertia with the bigger object.
A concussion occurs because your brain is still moving while the outside skull
is stopped. This is what causes the injury.
Space probes are launched to get past the Earths atmosphere. Then they
coast due to inertia.
 If you are on a train and the train is moving at a constant speed, a toy tossed
into the air will go straight up and then come down. This is because the toy has
inertia like the train and you.

It is now appropriate to return to the first law of motion, as formulated by Newton:

an object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will remain in motion, at
a constant velocity unless or until outside forces act upon it. Examples of this first
law in action are literally unlimited.

One of the best illustrations, in fact, involves something completely outside the
experience of Newton himself: an automobile. As a car moves down the highway, it
has a tendency to remain in motion unless some outside force changes its velocity.
The latter term, though it is commonly understood to be the same as speed, is in fact
more specific: velocity can be defined as the speed of an object in a particular
direction.

In a car moving forward at a fixed rate of 60 MPH (96 km/h), everything in the car
driver, passengers, objects on the seats or in the trunkis also moving forward at the
same rate. If that car then runs into a brick wall, its motion will be stopped, and quite
abruptly. But though its motion has stopped, in the split seconds after the crash it is
still responding to inertia: rather than bouncing off the brick wall, it will continue
plowing into it.

What, then, of the people and objects in the car? They too will continue to move
forward in response to inertia. Though the car has been stopped by an outside force,
those inside experience that force indirectly, and in the fragment of time after the car
itself has stopped, they continue to move forwardunfortunately, straight into the
dashboard or windshield.

It should also be clear from this example exactly why seatbelts, headrests, and
airbags in automobiles are vitally important. Attorneys may file lawsuits regarding a
client's injuries from airbags, and homespun opponents of the seatbelt may furnish a
wealth of anecdotal evidence concerning people who allegedly died in an accident
because they were wearing seatbelts; nonetheless, the first law of motion is on the
side of these protective devices.
The admittedly gruesome illustration of a car hitting a brick wall assumes that the
driver has not applied the brakesan example of an outside force changing velocity
or has done so too late. In any case, the brakes themselves, if applied too abruptly,
can present a hazard, and again, the significant factor here is inertia. Like the brick
wall, brakes stop the car, but there is nothing to stop the driver and/or passengers.
Nothing, that is, except protective devices: the seat belt to keep the person's body in
place, the airbag to cushion its blow, and the headrest to prevent whiplash in rear-
end collisions.

Inertia also explains what happens to a car when the driver makes a sharp, sudden
turn. Suppose you are is riding in the passenger seat of a car moving straight ahead,
when suddenly the driver makes a quick left turn. Though the car's tires turn
instantly, everything in the vehicleits frame, its tires, and its contentsis still
responding

W HEN A VEHICLE HITS A WALL , AS SHOWN HERE IN A CRASH TEST , ITS MOTION WILL BE
STOPPED , AND QUITE ABRUPTLY . B UT THOUGH ITS MOTION HAS STOPPED , IN THE
SPLIT SECONDS AFTER THE CRASH IT IS STILL RESPONDING TO INERTIA : RATHER THAN
BOUNCING OFF THE BRICK WALL , IT WILL CONTINUE PLOWING INTO IT . (Photograph
by
Tim Wright/Corbis
. Reproduced by permission.)
to inertia, and therefore "wants" to move forward even as it is turning to the left.

As the car turns, the tires may respond to this shift in direction by squealing: their
rubber surfaces were moving forward, and with the sudden turn, the rubber skids
across the pavement like a hard eraser on fine paper. The higher the original speed,
of course, the greater the likelihood the tires will squeal. At very high speeds, it is
possible the car may seem to make the turn "on two wheels"that is, its two outer
tires. It is even possible that the original speed was so high, and the turn so sharp,
that the driver loses control of the car.

Here inertia is to blame: the car simply cannot make the change in velocity (which,
again, refers both to speed and direction) in time. Even in less severe situations, you
are likely to feel that you have been thrown outward against the rider's side door. But
as in the car-and-brick-wall illustration used earlier, it is the car itself that first
experiences the change in velocity, and thus it responds first. You, the passenger,
then, are moving forward even as the car has turned; therefore, rather than being
thrown outward, you are simply meeting the leftward-moving door even as you push
forward.

F ROM P ARLOR T RICKS TO S PACE S HIPS

It would be wrong to conclude from the carrelated illustrations above that inertia is
always harmful. In fact it can help every bit as much as it can potentially harm, a fact
shown by two quite different scenarios.

The beneficial quality to the first scenario may be dubious: it is, after all, a mere
parlor trick, albeit an entertaining one. In this famous stunt, with which most people
are familiar even if they have never seen it, a full table setting is placed on a table
with a tablecloth, and a skillful practitioner manages to whisk the cloth out from
under the dishes without upsetting so much as a glass. To some this trick seems like
true magic, or at least sleight of hand; but under the right conditions, it can be done.
(This information, however, carries with it the warning, "Do not try this at home!")

To make the trick work, several things must align. Most importantly, the person
doing it has to be skilled and practiced at performing the feat. On a physical level, it
is best to minimize the friction between the cloth and settings on the one hand, and
the cloth and table on the other. It is also important to maximize the mass (a
property that will be discussed below) of the table settings, thus making them
resistant to movement. Hence, inertiawhich is measured by massplays a key role
in making the tablecloth trick work.
You might question the value of the tablecloth stunt, but it is not hard to recognize
the importance of the inertial navigation system (INS) that guides planes across the
sky. Prior to the 1970s, when INS made its appearance, navigation techniques for
boats and planes relied on reference to external points: the Sun, the stars, the
magnetic North Pole, or even nearby areas of land. This created all sorts of
possibilities for error: for instance, navigation by magnet (that is, a compass) became
virtually useless in the polar regions of the Arctic and Antarctic.

By contrast, the INS uses no outside points of reference: it navigates purely by

sensing the inertial force that results from changes in velocity. Not only does it
function as well near the poles as it does at the equator, it is difficult to tamper with
an INS, which uses accelerometers in a sealed, shielded container. By contrast, radio
signals or radar can be "confused" by signals from the groundas, for instance, from
an enemy unit during wartime.

As the plane moves along, its INS measures movement along all three geometrical
axes, and provides a continuous stream of data regarding acceleration, velocity, and
displacement. Thanks to this system, it is possible for a pilot leaving California for
Japan to enter the coordinates of a half-dozen points along the plane's flight path,
and let the INS guide the autopilot the rest of the way.

Yet INS has its limitations, as illustrated by the tragedy that occurred aboard Korean
Air Lines (KAL) Flight 007 on September 1, 1983. The plane, which contained 269
people and crew members, departed Anchorage, Alaska, on course for Seoul, South
Korea. The route they would fly was an established one called "R-20," and it appears
that all the information regarding their flight plan had been entered correctly in the
plane's INS.

This information included coordinates for internationally recognized points of

reference, actually just spots on the northern Pacific with names such as NABIE,
NUKKS, NEEVA, and so on, to NOKKA, thirty minutes east of Japan. Yet, just after
passing the fishing village of Bethel, Alaska, on the Bering Sea, the plane started to
veer off course, and ultimately wandered into Soviet airspace over the Kamchatka
Peninsula and later Sakhalin Island. There a Soviet Su-15 shot it down, killing all the
plane's passengers.
In the aftermath of the Flight 007 shoot-down, the Soviets accused the United States
and South Korea of sending a spy plane into their airspace. (Among the passengers
was Larry McDonald, a staunchly anti-Communist Congressman from Georgia.) It is
more likely, however, that the tragedy of 007 resulted from errors in navigation
which probably had something to do with the INS. The fact is that the R-20 flight
plan had been designed to keep aircraft well out of Soviet airspace, and at the time
KAL 007 passed over Kamchatka, it should have been 200 mi (320 km) to the east
over the Sea of Japan.

Among the problems in navigating a transpacific flight is the curvature of the Earth,
combined with the fact that the planet continues to rotate as the aircraft moves. On
such long flights, it is impossible to "pretend," as on a short flight, that Earth is flat:
coordinates have to be adjusted for the rounded surface of the planet. In addition,
the flight plan must take into account that (in the case of a flight from California to
Japan), Earth is moving eastward even as the plane moves westward. The INS
aboard KAL 007 may simply have failed to correct for these factors, and thus the
error compounded as the plane moved further. In any case, INS will eventually be
rendered obsolete by another form of navigation technology: the global positioning
satellite (GPS) system.

U NDERSTANDING I NERTIA

From examples used above, it should be clear that inertia is a more complex topic
than you might immediately guess. In fact, inertia as a process is rather
straightforward, but confusion regarding its meaning has turned it into a
complicated subject.

In everyday terminology, people typically use the word inertia to describe the
tendency of a stationary object to remain in place. This is particularly so when the
word is used metaphorically: as suggested earlier, the concept of inertia, like
numerous other aspects of the laws of motion, is often applied to personal or
emotional processes as much as the physical. Hence, you could say, for instance, "He
might have changed professions and made more money, but inertia kept him at his
old job." Yet you could just as easily say, for example, "He might have taken a
vacation, but inertia kept him busy." Because of the misguided way that most people
use the term, it is easy to forget that "inertia" equally describes a tendency toward
movement or nonmovement: in terms of Newtonian mechanics, it simply does not
matter.

The significance of the clause "unless or until outside forces act upon it" in the first
law indicates that the object itself must be in equilibriumthat is, the forces acting
upon it must be balanced. In order for an object to be in equilibrium, its rate of
movement in a given direction must be constant. Since a rate of movement equal to 0
is certainly constant, an object at rest is in equilibrium, and therefore qualifies; but
also, any object moving in a constant direction at a constant speed is also in
equilibrium.

T HE S ECOND L AW : F ORCE , M ASS , A CCELERATION

As noted earlier, the first law of motion deserves special attention because it is the
key to unlocking the other two. Having established in the first law the conditions
under which an object in motion will change velocity, the second law provides a
measure of the force necessary to cause that change.

Understanding the second law requires defining terms that, on the surface at least,
seem like a matter of mere common sense. Even inertia requires additional
explanation in light of terms related to the second law, because it would be easy to
confuse it with momentum.

The measure of inertia is mass, which reflects the resistance of an object to a change
in its motion. Weight, on the other hand, measures the gravitational force on an
object. (The concept of force itself will require further definition shortly.) Hence a
person's mass is the same everywhere in the universe, but their weight would differ
from planet to planet.

This can get somewhat confusing when you attempt to convert between English and
metric units, because the pound is a unit of weight or force, whereas the kilogram is a
unit of mass. In fact it would be more appropriate to set up kilograms against the
English unit called the slug (equal to 14.59 kg), or to compare pounds to the metric
unit of force, the newton (N), which is equal to the acceleration of one meter per
second per second on an object of 1 kg in mass.
Hence, though many tables of weights and measures show that 1 kg is equal to 2.21
lb, this is only true at sea level on Earth. A person with a mass of 100 kg on Earth
would have the same mass on the Moon; but whereas he might weigh 221 lb on
Earth, he would be considerably lighter on the Moon. In other words, it would be
much easier to lift a 221-lb man on the Moon than on Earth, but it would be no easier
to push him aside.

To return to the subject of momentum, whereas inertia is measured by mass,

momentum is equal to mass multiplied by velocity. Hence momentum, which
Newton called "quantity of motion," is in effect inertia multiplied by velocity.
Momentum is a subject unto itself; what matters here is the role that mass (and thus
inertia) plays in the second law of motion.

According to the second law, the net force acting upon an object is a product of its
mass multiplied by its acceleration. The latter is defined as a change in velocity over a
given time interval: hence acceleration is usually presented in terms of "feet (or
meters) per second per second"that is, feet or meters per second squared. The
acceleration due to gravity is 32 ft (9.8 m) per second per second, meaning that as
every second passes, the speed of a falling object is increasing by 32 ft (9.8 m) per
second.

The second law, as stated earlier, serves to develop the first law by defining the force
necessary to change the velocity of an object. The law was integral to the confirming
of the Copernican model, in which planets revolve around the Sun. Because velocity
indicates movement in a single (straight) direction, when an object moves in a curve
as the planets do around the Sunit is by definition changing velocity, or
accelerating. The fact that the planets, which clearly possessed mass, underwent
acceleration meant that some force must be acting on them: a gravitational pull
exerted by the Sun, most massive object in the solar system.

Gravity is in fact one of four types of force at work in the universe. The others are
electromagnetic interactions, and "strong" and "weak" nuclear interactions. The
other three were unknown to Newtonyet his definition of force is still applicable.
Newton's calculation of gravitational force (which, like momentum, is a subject unto
itself) made it possible for Halley to determine that the comet he had observed in
1682the comet that today bears his namewould reappear in 1758, as indeed it has
for every 75-76 years since then. Today scientists use the understanding of
gravitational force imparted by Newton to determine the exact altitude necessary for
a satellite to remain stationary above the same point on Earth's surface.

The second law is so fundamental to the operation of the universe that you seldom
notice its application, and it is easiest to illustrate by examples such as those above
of astronomers and physicists applying it to matters far beyond the scope of daily life.
Yet the second law also makes it possible, for instance, to calculate the amount of
force needed to move an object, and thus people put it into use every day without
knowing that they are doing so.

T HE T HIRD L AW : A CTION AND R EACTION

As with the second law, the third law of motion builds on the first two. Having
defined the force necessary to overcome inertia, the third law predicts what will
happen when one force comes into contact with another force. As the third law
states, when one object exerts a force on another, the second object exerts on the first
a force equal in magnitude but opposite in direction.

Unlike the second law, this one is much easier to illustrate in daily life. If a book is
sitting on a table, that means that the book is exerting a force on the table equal to its
mass multiplied by its rate of acceleration. Though it is not moving, the book is
subject to the rate of gravitational acceleration, and in fact force and weight (which is
defined as mass multiplied by the rate of acceleration due to gravity) are the same. At
the same time, the table pushes up on the book with an exactly equal amount of force
just enough to keep it stationary. If the table exerted more force that the bookin
other words, if instead of being an ordinary table it were some sort of pneumatic
press pushing upwardthen the book would fly off the table.

There is no such thing as an unpaired force in the universe. The table rests on the
floor just as the book rests on it, and the floor pushes up on the table with a force
equal in magnitude to that with which the table presses down on the floor. The same
is true for the floor and the supporting beams that hold it up, and for the supporting
beams and the foundation of the building, and the building and the ground, and so
on.
These pairs of forces exist everywhere. When you walk, you move forward by pushing
backward on the ground with a force equal to your mass multiplied by your rate of
downward gravitational acceleration. (This force, in other words, is the same as
weight.) At the same time, the ground actually pushes back with an equal force. You
do not perceive the fact that Earth is pushing you upward, simply because its
enormous mass makes this motion negligiblebut it does push.

If you were stepping off of a small unmoored boat and onto a dock, however,
something quite different would happen. The force of your leap to the dock would
exert an equal force against the boat, pushing it further out into the water, and as a
result, you would likely end up in the water as well. Again, the reaction is equal and
opposite; the problem is that the boat in this illustration is not fixed in place like the
ground beneath your feet.

Differences in mass can result in apparently different reactions, though in fact the
force is the same. This can be illustrated by imagining a mother and her six-year-old
daughter skating on ice, a relatively frictionless surface. Facing one another, they
push against each other, and as a result each moves backward. The child, of course,
will move backward faster because her mass is less than that of her mother. Because
the force they exerted is equal, the daughter's acceleration is greater, and she moves
farther.

Ice is not a perfectly frictionless surface, of course: otherwise, skating would be

impossible. Likewise friction is absolutely necessary for walking, as you can illustrate
by trying to walk on a perfectly slick surfacefor instance, a skating rink covered
with oil. In this situation, there is still an equally paired set of forcesyour body
presses down on the surface of the ice with as much force as the ice presses upward
but the lack of friction impedes the physical process of pushing off against the floor.

It will only be possible to overcome inertia by recourse to outside intervention, as for

instance if someone who is not on the ice tossed out a rope attached to a pole in the
ground. Alternatively, if the person on the ice were carrying a heavy load of rocks, it
would be possible to move by throwing the rocks backward. In this situation, you are
exerting force on the rock, and this backward force results in a force propelling the
thrower forward.
This final point about friction and movement is an appropriate place to close the
discussion on the laws of motion. Where walking or skating are concernedand in
the absence of a bag of rocks or some other outside forcefriction is necessary to the
action of creating a backward force and therefore moving forward. On the other
hand, the absence of friction would make it possible for an object in movement to
continue moving indefinitely, in line with the first law of motion. In either case,
friction opposes inertia.

The fact is that friction itself is a force. Thus, if you try to slide a block of wood across
a floor, friction will stop it. It is important to remember this, lest you fall into the
fallacy that bedeviled Aristotle's thinking and thus confused the world for many
centuries. The block did not stop moving because the force that pushed it was no
longer being applied; it stopped because an opposing force, friction, was greater than
the force that was pushing it.

Read more: http://www.scienceclarified.com/everyday/Real-Life-Chemistry-Vol-3-

Physics-Vol-1/Laws-of-Motion-Real-life-applications.html#ixzz349aEylK4

Applying Concepts
Please answer the following question before Friday, December 17, 2010.

You are moving fast on a skateboard when your wheel gets stuck in a crack on the sidewalk. Using
the term inertia, explain what happens.

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62 Responses to Applying Concepts

Previous 1 2
1. Larisa C. Says:
December 16th, 2010 at 10:19 pm

When youre moving fast on a skateboard and the wheel gets stuck in the crack on the sidewalk then,

youll fly forward. Once the wheel stops, you will keep moving resulting to fly forward. Newtons first law

states that an object at rest will stay in rest and an object in motion will stay in motion unless it is

encountered by an unbalanced force. Since the wheel got stuck or got into rest, you are still moving which

makes you fall forward. According to inertia, this is what would happen, youd stay in motion. You didnt

hit any unbalanced force which kept you in motion but, the skateboard hit an unbalanced force which

made it stop.

2. kpalomino Says:
December 17th, 2010 at 6:47 am

If I were to be able to ride a skateboard and it got its wheel stuck in a crack I would go fling. This is

according to Newtons First Law or as known as The Law of Inertia. IN other words this law replicates that

a non-moving object will stay in motion till acted upon by an unbalanced force. In this example the object

that wishes to stay in motion is the skate board and the unbalanced force is the crack in the sidewalk. The

concrete that makes the side walk has such a high inertia or resistance to force it will stop instantly. The

outcome of the skateboard stopping instantly shows clearly that me or the person on the skateboard

would go flying as a result to the unbalanced force only stopping the skate board not the person moving

with the skate board. This because no unbalanced force hit which caused me to stay in motion after the

skate board stopped moving.

3. kpalomino Says:
December 17th, 2010 at 6:48 am

If I were to be able to ride a skateboard and it got its wheel stuck in a crack I would go fling. This is

according to Newtons First Law or as known as The Law of Inertia. IN other words this law replicates that

a non-moving object will stay in motion till acted upon by an unbalanced force. In this example the object

that wishes to stay in motion is the skate board and the unbalanced force is the crack in the sidewalk. The

concrete that makes the side walk has such a high inertia or resistance to force it will stop instantly. The

outcome of the skateboard stopping instantly shows clearly that I or the person on the skateboard would
 go flying as a result to the unbalanced force only stopping the skateboard not the person moving with the

skate board. This because no unbalanced force hit which caused me to stay in motion after the skate

board stopped moving.

4. kpalomino Says:
December 17th, 2010 at 6:50 am

If I were to be able to ride a skateboard and it got its wheel stuck in a crack I would go fling. This is

according to Newtons First Law or as known as The Law of Inertia. In other words this law replicates that

a non-moving object will stay in motion till acted upon by an unbalanced force. In this example the object

that wishes to stay in motion is the skateboard and the unbalanced force is the crack in the sidewalk. The

concrete that makes the side walk has such a high inertia or resistance to force it will stop instantly. The

outcome of the skateboard stopping instantly shows clearly that I or the person on the skateboard would

go flying as a result to the unbalanced force only stopping the skateboard not the person moving with the

skateboard. This because no unbalanced force hit which caused me to stay in motion after the skate board

stopped moving.

5. kpalomino Says:
December 17th, 2010 at 6:51 am

sorry my computer spazzed out and sent like 4

6. jlake Says:
December 17th, 2010 at 7:26 am

If you are on a skateboard really fast and your wheel gets stuck in the crack, you will go flying of the

skateborad. This happens because your momentum is so fast and when you come to a sudden stop your

bodies momentum is too fast to a carries off the skateboard and on the ground a few yards away.

This is pretty much explaining Newtons 1st law of Motion called Inertia.

7. Sarah F. Says:
December 17th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
When you are on a skate board going really fast, and your skate boards
wheel gets stuck in a crack, you will fall off the skate board. Like
Newtons 3rd law, inertia, an object that is in motion will stay in motion
unless acted by an unbalanced force. You are moving with the skate
board (object) until your wheel gets stuck into a crack (Unbalanced
force), and you will be no longer in motion because you fell off the
skate board.
8. nchavez Says:
December 18th, 2010 at 10:33 pm

If you were on a skateboard moving fast and your wheel got stuck in a crack you would fly forward.

Newtons first law says that an object at rest will remain at rest and a moving object will remain moving

unless hit by an unbalance force. The wheel got stuck so this means youre still moving and it makes you

fall forward.You would basically stay in motion even if the skateboard stops. This is according to inertia.

The skateboard hit an unbalanced force so it stopped but the person didnt so they still kept moving

forward.

9. Mayada Says:
December 22nd, 2010 at 8:04 pm

When your skateboard hits the little crack on the sidewalk what happens is that a force acted upon the

skateboard. Which made it stop that could also be called inertia. An aboject cant move unless acted upon

bya force. This little story demonastres that concept.

Imagine you are in a stopped car (say, at a red light) and another car strikes
yours from behind, you may suffer whiplash. Your body is accelerated forward by
the force of the seat, but your head wants to stay stationary. If there is no
headrest, your head will be accelerated forward by your very overstetched and
bent neck. To you, it feels as if your head is snapped backwards, but whats really
happening is your body is being accelerated forward and your head is being left
behind. Watch this video from CNN about testing conducted by the Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety.
Imagine you are in a car and crash into a tree. The car comes to a sudden stop
because the tree is exerting a very large force on the car. The tree isnt exerting
a force on your body, however, and you will continue moving at your original
velocity until something does stop you. If you have your seatbelt on, the seatbelt
will do the job. If not, you will continue through the windshield and be stopped by
some object outside the car.
While riding a skateboard without a helmet, you fall and your head strikes the
ground. Your skull stops suddenly, but your brain keeps moving, causing it to ram
into the inside of your skull, resulting in bruising, swelling, and disruption of brain
function. This is called a concussion.
The Voyager 1 and 2 space probes were launched in 1977, to visit the gas-giant
planets Jupiter and Saturn. Voyager 2 also went to Uranus and Neptune. They are
now both about 100 times further from the Sun than Earth is, more than 3 times
the Sun-Neptune distance. Since their launch in 1977, the Voyagers have been
coasting moving purely due to their inertia.

Organs inside the ears of many fish, including sharks, containotoliths, small grains
of calcium carbonate that help the fish sense its own acceleration. When the fish
changes speed or direction, the grains shift relative to the organ (called
the sacculus). Really, the otolith's inertia is carrying it with constant speed and
direction; it's the rest of the shark changing velocity that causes the sides of the
sacculus to hit the otolith and provide acceleration infomation to the fish's brain.

The U.S. Navy uses hovercraft that float above the surface of the water, which
minimizes friction and allows them to travel quickly. These craft are called LCAC's
(for Landing Craft - Air Cushion) and are used for amphibious landings on
beaches. They can travel fast and, instead of having to stop at the beach to
unload, just keep riding up the beach and inland. Hovercraft are tricky to drive,
though, because of inertia. Once going, they are hard to stop. A car uses friction
with the ground to speed up, change direction, or slow down. A hovercraft is not
touching the ground, so there's no traction (another word for friction) to do those
things.
The law of inertia is applied to the concept of hovercraft.A moving hovercraft eventually comes to rest due to the
first law of motion which is also called law of inertia (which states that a body will continue its state of rest or of
uniform linear motion if

no net external force is acting on it. The required condition is:no external force. In an inertial motion the
acceleration is always zero.)

and if it is not powered and comes to stop,it will float in water.