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Chapter 3: Problem 23

Galileo came up with the concept of inertia. What do we mean by inertia?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist changes in its motion, staying at rest or moving uniformly unless acted upon by an external force.

Step by step solution

01

- Define Inertia

Inertia is a property of matter that describes the tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion. This means an object at rest will stay at rest, and an object in motion will continue moving at a constant velocity, unless acted upon by an external force.
02

- Explain the Concept with Examples

For instance, a ball rolling on a flat surface will eventually stop due to friction, which is an external force. Without this force, the ball would continue to roll indefinitely. Similarly, a book lying on a table will remain stationary until a force (like a push) is applied to it.
03

- Relate to Galileo's Principle

Galileo's principle of inertia was revolutionary because it contradicted previous beliefs that objects naturally slowed down and stopped on their own. Instead, he proposed that the natural state of motion does not change without an external force.

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Key Concepts

These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.

Galileo
Galileo Galilei was an Italian scientist who made significant contributions to our understanding of motion. Before Galileo, it was commonly believed that objects needed a continuous force to keep moving. Galileo challenged this idea with his principle of inertia.
He observed that objects would slow down only because of resistive forces like friction or air resistance.
In a frictionless environment, he argued, an object would keep moving at a constant speed forever.
This idea laid the groundwork for the later, more formalized Newton's laws of motion.
Newton's First Law
Newton's First Law of Motion, also known as the law of inertia, builds directly on Galileo’s principle. It states that an object will remain at rest or move at a constant velocity unless acted upon by an external force.
This means that if no net force is applied to an object, its state of motion will not change.
The law can be summarized as:
  • An object at rest stays at rest.
  • An object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and direction.
This concept helps us understand why seat belts are crucial in cars.
If a car suddenly stops, your body would continue moving forward at the same speed if not restrained.
Friction
Friction is a force that opposes the relative motion or tendency of such motion of two surfaces in contact.
It plays a critical role in our daily lives and is essential for many processes.
There are different types of friction:
  • Static Friction: This is the friction that keeps an object at rest.
  • Kinetic Friction: This occurs when an object is moving.
For example, when you push a book across a table, it eventually stops because kinetic friction opposes its motion.
Friction is also the reason why we need to exert a force to start moving an object, overcoming static friction in the process.
Motion
Motion refers to the change in position of an object with respect to time.
The study of motion is known as kinematics, and it involves various concepts such as velocity, speed, and acceleration.
Here are some key points:
  • Velocity: The speed of an object in a specific direction.
  • Acceleration: The rate of change of velocity.
  • Speed: How fast an object is moving, irrespective of the direction.
Objects in motion tend to stay in motion unless acted upon by an external force, which goes back to the concept of inertia.
Understanding motion is fundamental for solving many problems in physics and engineering.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Go to the Museo Galileo website and view the exhibit on Galileo's telescope (http://www.museogalileo.it/en/explore/ exhibitions/pastexhibitions/galileostelescope.html). What did his telescope look like? What other instruments did he use? From the museum page you can link to short videos (in English) on his science and his trial (http://catalogue museogalileo.it/index/VideoIndexByThematicArea.html#s7). For example, click on "Galileo's micrometer": How did he measure the separation of the moons from Jupiter? How did this measurement allow him to show that the moons obeyed Kepler's law? Why is Galileo often considered the first modern scientist? Why is his middle finger on display in the museum?

Planets with high eccentricity may be unlikely candidates for life because a. the speed varies too much. b. the period varies too much. c. the temperature varies too much. d. the orbit varies too much.

Suppose a new dwarf planet is discovered orbiting the Sun with a semimajor axis of 50 AU. What would be the orbital period of this new dwarf planet?

Suppose you read online that "experts have discovered a new planet with a distance from the Sun of 2 AU and a period of 3 years." Use Kepler's third law to argue that this is impossible.

Suppose you are pushing a small refrigerator of mass \(50 \mathrm{kg}\) on wheels. You push with a force of \(100 \mathrm{N}\) a. What is the refrigerator's acceleration? b. Assume the refrigerator starts at rest. How long will the refrigerator accelerate at this rate before it gets away from you (that is, before it is moving faster than you can run-of the order \(10 \mathrm{m} / \mathrm{s}\) )?
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