Inertia is the property of anyone who resists a change in the state of motion. This tendency of objects can be derived from Newton’s first law which states that an object in motion continues to move in a straight line unless and until acted upon by an external force. Based on the state of motion, there are two types of inertia namely inertia of motion and inertia of rest. In this article, we focus on 15 examples of inertia of motion.
What is the inertia of motion?
The inertia of motion is the tendency of a body to resist change in motion when an object is in motion. The body will have a tendency to move in the same direction at the same speed when acted upon by an external force. For example, when a bus stops suddenly, the passenger tends to bend in the forward direction. This is called the inertia of motion.
Examples of inertia of motion
- Landing of an aircraft
- Stiring of coffee
- The sudden application of brakes in a vehicle
- Men in space
- Satellite in space
- A curling stone
- A rolling ball
- When you stop pedaling a bicycle
- A rotating door
- Hammer throw
- When you try to get down from a moving vehicle,
- Anything you throw inside a vehicle will come down to you
- In marathon or short sprints, the athlete continues running even after finishing
- Running before the long jump to get an advantage
- Car with the engine off still moves due to the inertia of motion
Landing of an aircraft: An aircraft after landing does not come to an immediate halt. If it were to stop immediately, then all passengers would be thrown in the forward direction due to the inertia of motion at such a high speed. The aircraft has to travel some distance before it comes to a total stop.
Anything you throw inside a vehicle will come down to you: Suppose you are on a train. Then you and all your belongings move at the same speed and have the inertia of motion. So when you throw a ball upwards inside a train, it should ideally move backward, but due to the inertia of motion, it will move with the speed of the train. This example of inertia of motion is a bit difficult to understand unless you try it in a moving vehicle.
Swirling of coffee/milk: After you swirl a glass of milk, the milk does not stop swirling immediately. It continues swirling for some time after which it stops. This is due to the inertia of the motion of the molecules.
Sudden application of breaks in vehicles: When a vehicle applies to break all of a sudden, the car stops but you don’t. Due to the inertia of motion, you tend to keep moving. The seat belt tries to arrest this motion and save you from falling in the forward direction. That is why it is important to wear seat belts. The faster the speed of the vehicle, the greater the inertia of motion.
Men in space: According to Newton’s first law, an object in motion will continue to be moved unless and until acted upon by an external force. This is the origin of inertia. But, in outer space, there is no external force acting on the object. That is why you see astronauts flying in outer space.
Satellite in space: Satellites orbit around the Earth in a specified orbit. The satellite moves due to inertia, and there is no external force to stop its motion in outer space. So, the satellites orbit the Earth unhindered.
Curling Stone: In the game of curling a stone is pushed across the surface to reach a specified location on the ground. So when we slide the stone it moves due to inertia of motion but eventually stops due to sliding friction.
Rolling ball: In a game of baseball/soccer/cricket we see that the ball keeps rolling for a long time after which it stops. The inertia of motion allows it to roll until stopped by the rolling friction. Since rolling friction is less compared to sliding friction, the ball will travel a long distance as compared to a sliding object like a curling stone.
When we stop peddling a cycle: This is one example of inertia of motion that every one of us might have experienced at some point in time. When we peddle a cycle it moves from rest to motion. But, when we stop peddling it keeps moving for some time till it stops due to friction.
A rotating door: You might have experienced this example of inter of motion in hotels and offices. The rotating door keeps on rotating for some time until it stops rotating. This is due to the inertia of motion, which does not stop as soon as force is removed. This kind of door is used for managing large crowds.
Hammer throw: In a game of hammer throw, an athlete has to throw a hammer as long as possible. The athlete makes several revolutions before throwing the hammer to generate centrifugal force. The moment the athlete leaves the hammer, it travels a large distance due to the inertia of motion. The air resistance is also not enough to stop the hammer. It is ultimately pulled down by the force of gravity.
When to try to get down from a moving vehicle: When you are trying to get down from a moving vehicle, half of your body comes to rest, and half of the body is still in motion due to inertia of motion. This will cause you to move in the direction of the vehicle and eventually, you will fall down depending on the speed of the vehicle. It is very dangerous and should be avoided.
Marathon: In marathons or short sprints, the athlete continues running even after reaching the finish line. This is due to the inertia of motion. The athlete cannot stop immediately, he stops gradually by reducing his speed.
Long Jump: In the long jump, an athlete has to jump the longest distance possible. The inertia of motion will give us an extra advantage by allowing us to move a little further. To take this advantage athletes come running before taking the jump.
Car with the engine off: A moving car continues to move even with the engines off in a flat path. This is because the inertia of motion continues to push the car until stopped by frictional force.
All examples of inertia of motion are experienced when a moving body comes tries to come to a state of rest. In examples like satellites and men in outer space, the inertia of motion allows the objects to continue in motion forever since there are no opposing forces.
See Also
- Newton’s second law of motion examples
- 10 Examples of inertia of rest
- Examples of newtons first law of motion
- 15 Examples of newtons third law of motion
- Examples of periodic motion
- Examples of non-periodic motion
- Non-uniform motion examples
- Examples of uniform motion
- Examples of projectile motion
- Maximum height of a projectile formula
