You know that feeling when you're stuck doing the same thing again and again with no change in sight? It's annoying, right? It's very hard to get out of it when you've been stagnant for so long. It's so hard to make a change. You're stuck in the same position as you were before. That's why it's so hard to start a new habit. Or stop a bad one. Unless, something will trigger you to move. Internally or externally. That's the downside of inertia.
The good side of inertia is when you're moving, you're really moving. Right? Once you get started, momentum is on your side. In physics speak, momentum is mass times velocity. The greater the velocity, the greater the momentum. When you're moving, when you're constantly doing action, it just keeps you going. You get energized so you keep going then you see results so you keep going and so on and so forth. It's a self-sustaining loop.
But what is inertia? According to Wikipedia, "inertia is the resistance of any physical object to any change in its velocity." That includes the case when velocity is zero, that is, when the object is at rest. Eh, what's that in layman's term? A quick Google search tells me that "inertia is the tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged." Now that it's defined let's talk about Newton's First Law.
Newton's First Law of Motion (aka Law of Inertia) states that "a body at rest will remain at rest unless an outside force acts on it." I remember my high school Physics teacher emphasizing that this outside force has to be unbalanced. Meaning that for the body to move the net force acting on it has to be nonzero.
For example, you see a book on top of a table. It's not moving. But that doesn't mean that there are no forces acting on it. There are! The first one is obviously gravity. The second one is not so obvious. It is the normal force exerted by the table on the book. So the gravitational force is countered by the normal force and the forces are balanced. Hence, no motion.
What if the body is already in motion? Well, the second part of the Law of Inertia states that "a body in motion at a constant velocity will remain in motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an outside force." If that is so then why do objects eventually stop moving in the real world? For example, if i roll a marble on a basketball court, i know for a fact that it will eventually stop. Why? Does this violate the Law of Inertia?
Not so fast. There's actually a force acting on it. It's friction. That's why it slows down and eventually stops. Because of friction. The rougher the surface, the greater the friction. Or something like that. Do you know that we won't be able to walk if there's no friction? That's why amateur skaters slide on the skating rink. Because there's minimal friction. Ah, but that's besides the point.
So what's my point?
We all know from experience that it's so hard to wake up in the morning (or afternoon/evening, if you're nocturnal). That's the Law of Inertia's fault. Yes! At least, metaphorically. Haha. I feel this personally because it takes a lot of energy and willpower to get up in the morning.
The hardest part is starting. Because of inertia. Inertia will hinder you from starting. But it's also inertia that will help you once you get going. The second part of Law of Inertia, remember?
That's why inertia is a double-edged sword. Both friend and foe. A frenemy, if you will.
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Here's the podcast episode (aka ramblings) that inspired this post. Shoutout to Otter for transcribing which became the skeleton for this post. It's not 100% accurate but that's because I don't have the perfect pronunciation. I ramble, you see.
https://anchor.fm/janeth-canama/episodes/Episode-3-inertia-and-productivity-e79nfs
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Further Readings:
1. 1st&2nd Laws of Motion. Retrieved December 28, 2019, from https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/WindTunnel/Activities/first2nd_lawsf_motion.html
2. What is normal force? Retrieved December 28, 2019, from https://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/forces-newtons-laws/normal-contact-force/a/what-is-normal-force
The good side of inertia is when you're moving, you're really moving. Right? Once you get started, momentum is on your side. In physics speak, momentum is mass times velocity. The greater the velocity, the greater the momentum. When you're moving, when you're constantly doing action, it just keeps you going. You get energized so you keep going then you see results so you keep going and so on and so forth. It's a self-sustaining loop.
But what is inertia? According to Wikipedia, "inertia is the resistance of any physical object to any change in its velocity." That includes the case when velocity is zero, that is, when the object is at rest. Eh, what's that in layman's term? A quick Google search tells me that "inertia is the tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged." Now that it's defined let's talk about Newton's First Law.
Newton's First Law of Motion (aka Law of Inertia) states that "a body at rest will remain at rest unless an outside force acts on it." I remember my high school Physics teacher emphasizing that this outside force has to be unbalanced. Meaning that for the body to move the net force acting on it has to be nonzero.
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| source: khan academy |
For example, you see a book on top of a table. It's not moving. But that doesn't mean that there are no forces acting on it. There are! The first one is obviously gravity. The second one is not so obvious. It is the normal force exerted by the table on the book. So the gravitational force is countered by the normal force and the forces are balanced. Hence, no motion.
What if the body is already in motion? Well, the second part of the Law of Inertia states that "a body in motion at a constant velocity will remain in motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an outside force." If that is so then why do objects eventually stop moving in the real world? For example, if i roll a marble on a basketball court, i know for a fact that it will eventually stop. Why? Does this violate the Law of Inertia?
Not so fast. There's actually a force acting on it. It's friction. That's why it slows down and eventually stops. Because of friction. The rougher the surface, the greater the friction. Or something like that. Do you know that we won't be able to walk if there's no friction? That's why amateur skaters slide on the skating rink. Because there's minimal friction. Ah, but that's besides the point.
So what's my point?
We all know from experience that it's so hard to wake up in the morning (or afternoon/evening, if you're nocturnal). That's the Law of Inertia's fault. Yes! At least, metaphorically. Haha. I feel this personally because it takes a lot of energy and willpower to get up in the morning.
The hardest part is starting. Because of inertia. Inertia will hinder you from starting. But it's also inertia that will help you once you get going. The second part of Law of Inertia, remember?
That's why inertia is a double-edged sword. Both friend and foe. A frenemy, if you will.
---
Here's the podcast episode (aka ramblings) that inspired this post. Shoutout to Otter for transcribing which became the skeleton for this post. It's not 100% accurate but that's because I don't have the perfect pronunciation. I ramble, you see.
https://anchor.fm/janeth-canama/episodes/Episode-3-inertia-and-productivity-e79nfs
---
Further Readings:
1. 1st&2nd Laws of Motion. Retrieved December 28, 2019, from https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/WindTunnel/Activities/first2nd_lawsf_motion.html
2. What is normal force? Retrieved December 28, 2019, from https://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/forces-newtons-laws/normal-contact-force/a/what-is-normal-force
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