Inertia is the basic concept of physics that is explained using the concept of Mass. The inertial concept was first explained by Sir Isaac Newton and the Law of Inertia is explained as any object in a state of rest or in a state of motion always staying in its state of rest or motion until an external force is applied. We can define Inertia in physics as the property of the matter that is linked to the mass of the object.
In this article, we will learn about, What is Inertia, What is Law of Inertia, Examples of the Law of Inertia, and others in detail.
What is Inertia?
Inertia meaning is the property of any material by the virtue of which any object tends to be in the state of rest or motion and does not change its state of rest or motion until an external force is applied to it. We define the inertia of any object as,
“The property of any object by the virtue of which the object cannot change its state of either in rest or in motion is known as Inertia.”
The mass of a body is responsible for creating inertia, the greater the mass of a body, the greater will be the inertia of the body. For instance, It is easy to stop by simply applying braking to a bicycle as the mass of the bicycle is less but it is a lot tougher to stop a bus or a truck, since the mass of a bus or a truck is more. The same is the case when these vehicles are to be started, more effort in bus/truck (since more mass) and less effort on a bicycle (since less mass).
Inertia Definition
Initially, when the concept of inertia was not introduced, Aristotle came up with a hypothesis regarding the objects in motion, which later proved to be false. Therefore, the concept of objects in motion given by Galileo is known as Aristotle’s fallacy.
Aristotle’s fallacy was based on the everyday observation of objects in motion. Imagine a ball in motion which was thrown some time ago, after some time, the ball has to come to rest. Aristotle presumed this to be a natural phenomenon and not an act of friction and hence claimed that an object in motion always has some external force applied to it, to else it shall come to rest. This concept contradicts the concept of inertia. So we define Inertia in Physcis as the property of the material based on its mass.
What Is Law of Inertia?
The law of inertia also called the first law of motion is the fundamental law of physics that was proposed by famous English Scientist Sir Issac Newton, the law of inertia states that,
“An object in the state of rest or motion always remains in its initial state until and unless external force is applied to it.”
Law of Inertia Examples
Various example explaining law of inertia are,
- A ball rolling on a frctionless table in a vacuum rolls for infinity until an external force is applied to it.
- A person standing on a moving bus titls forward when the brakes of the bus are applied.
- Shaking the branches of the tree with fruits makes the fruits to fall on the ground because they are in the state of rest, etc.
Types of Inertia
There are three types of Inertia that are,
- Inertia At Rest
- Inertia In Motion
- Inertia Of Direction
Now let’s learn about them in detail
Inertia At Rest
A body remains at rest due to the inertia (opposing force) present inside the object until and unless an external force more than the inertial force is applied to it.
Inertia In Motion
A body in motion remains in motion until and unless an external force (maybe brakes, friction, etc) is applied to the body.
Inertia Of Direction
A body moving in one direction remains in the same direction until and unless some force is applied in order to change the direction of the body.
Galileo’s Free Fall Experiment
The concept of inertia was established by Galileo. It states that if an object is free-falling or rolling down an inclined plane, the distance traveled by the object is directly proportional to the time. Let s be the distance and t be the time traveled then
s ∝ t2
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Galileo did an experiment to find this concept. Galileo decided to put the ball on two types of inclined planes as shown in the figure below. The first experiment had both planes equal, it was observed that the ball when rolled down from a certain height reached up to the same height when the surface is extremely smooth. In the second experiment, the other slope is decreased and observed that still the ball reaches up the same height.
Similarly, when the slope of the plane is completely removed, the ball shall reach infinity but due to the presence of friction, it stops after a certain point. Therefore, Aristotle’s concept was turned out to be false, since if any friction is not present (assuming), an object in motion shall always remain in motion.
Inertia Exlpain by Galileo
In the conclusion of his free falling experiment Galileo conclude that, Inertia is the internal property of the material and its is responsible for its state of rest or motion and changing the state of inertia requires an external force. This is later confined by Issac Netwon in his Newton’s Laws of Motion.
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FAQs on Inertia
1. What is Inertia?
Inertia is the basic concept of Physcis and it explains the concept of Mass. Inertia basically means the ability of an object to continue in its state of motion or rest until an external force is applied on it.
2. What is Law of Inertia?
Law of Inertia is explained as, “An Object in the state of rest or in state of motion remains in its state unless an external force is applied.”
3. What are Types of Inertia?
There are three Types of Inertia that include,
- Inertia At Rest
- Inertia In Motion
- Inertia Of Direction
4. What are Examples of Law of Inertia?
Various examples of law of inertia are,
- Jerk experienced by a person when brakes of a bus are applied.
- Jerk experienced when the lift starts, etc.
5. What is Inertia Meaning?
Inertia meaning in physics is the basic property of the matter that is linked with its mass. Inertia is explained as the property of material that allow any object to be in its state of rest or motion until an external force is applied to it.
6. When sitting in a bus, brakes are applied, should people in the bus move forward, backward, or remain intact?
When brakes are applied on a bus in motion. People will move forward with a jerk. This is because people along with the bus are in motion, and when brakes are applied on the bus, people are still in motion due to the inertia in motion. Therefore, they still want to move forward and be in motion, and hence they move forward with a jerk.
7. Why a Carpet is beaten to remove dust?
The concept of inertia plays a role in the most minute things done in daily life. A carpet is beaten to remove dust because the carpet and the dust sticking to the carpet are both at rest, and when the carpet is beaten, the dust still remains at rest and falls down.
8. Which law of Newton is similar to the concept of Inertia?
Newton’s first law is similar to the concept of inertia. It states that a body at rest remains at rest until an external force is applied to it and a body in motion remains in motion until a force is applied to it.
9. When sitting in a Train and the Train suddenly starts, why do people sitting in it move Backward?
The people initially were at rest along with the train and when force is applied on the train to move it forward, people in the train are still at rest, and therefore due to the inertia at rest, they want to be at rest and hence, they move backward.
10. There are two different objects of different Mass, one is 50kgs and the other is 30kgs. Which object will have more Inertia and why?
The inertia of an object depends on the mass it has, therefore the greater the mass, the more will be the inertia. Hence, the object having more mass will have more inertia. The object having a mass of 50kgs will have more inertia.
11. Which one would have more Inertia, a pencil or an iron chair?
The inertia of an object depends on the mass it has, therefore the greater the mass, the more will be the inertia. Hence, the object having more mass will have more inertia. Therefore, the iron chair will have more inertia.
12. What is Moment of Inertia?
Moment of Inertia is a physical quantity analogous to the inertia with a difference that Moment of Inertia resist the rotational motion of an object. Moment of Inertia is also referred as Rotational Inertia.
13. What is Moment of Inertia Formula?
Moment of Inertia Formula or Equation is given as I = Σmiri2 where i = 1 to n and m is the mass of the particles and r is the distance of the particles from the rotational axis.
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