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Physics 22 Online
OpenStudy (anonymous):

can you please give me a situation where there is zero acceleration

OpenStudy (anonymous):

Can i ask you whats your acceleration right now?

OpenStudy (anonymous):

Strictly speaking, you should talk about (zero) acceleration with respect to some reference frame. So, if I take a reference frame fixed in my study, I am just sitting here at my desk and so my acceleration in that frame is zero. However, if my chosen reference frame was fixed with respect to the distant stars, let's say, then even though I am still just sitting here, I have an acceleration because I am moving along with the Earth, which is spinning on its axis and also moving around the sun. There's a special class of reference frames, called inertial frames, in which bodies are only observed to accelerate if acted upon by some external force. A frame of reference fixed with respect to distant stars is a good example of an inertial frame. So, to answer your question, a situation where there would be no acceleration in an inertial frame would be somewhere out in space very far from anything where there is negligible gravity or other forces. In such a place, a lone object would just sit there, or move along in a straight line with unchanging speed - spooky. Or how about one of those objects that glides along on a linear air track, as an approximate example closer to home ?

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