Thursday, 17 January 2019

newtonian mechanics - Is there any true inertial reference frame in the universe?


Is there any true inertial reference frame in the universe?


Newton's first law states that an object at rest remains at rest, and an object performing uniform motion performs uniform motion, until and unless acted upon by an external force, if viewed from an inertial frame. It is the definition of an inertial frame of reference. And Newton's second law states that the net external force acting on a particle equals its mass times its acceleration. Thus we need to have an inertial frame in order for Newton's 1st and 2nd laws to be applicable.


Scientists claim that Earth is an inertial frame, either the ECEF frame or the ECI frame. Why is that? Earth's different parts have different accelerations when it performs rotational motion about its axis. Now you may say that Earth's axis is inertial, but the Earth is also revolving around the Sun. Thus Earth's frame should be non-inertial.



Even supposing that earth's frame is inertial, then it means that rest of the universe is non-inertial, because only a frame that moves with constant velocity with respect to an inertial frame is also an inertial frame and according to various scientific experiments there is no other matter in this universe which satisfies that criterion. Now you may say that earth is an approximate inertial frame, but still, my question is: is there any perfect inertial frame in the universe where Newton's laws are exactly applicable?




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