Examples of Inertia
Inertia not only has to do with its rest or macroscopic movement, but also with the state of aggregation and temperature . When a substance needs a lot of heat to raise its temperature, it is said to have a great thermal inertia. On the other hand, when a small portion of heat is added to it and it is immediately heated, it is said to have low thermal inertia.
Types of inertia
Inertia can be classified according to the physical phenomenon in which it participates:
- Dynamic inertia
- Static inertia
- Translational inertia
- Rotational inertia
- Thermal inertia
Dynamic inertia
Dynamic inertia is related to the rectilinear motion of a body. It’s about how much your trajectory can deviate. If it is necessary to apply a large force to modify its path, it is said to have great dynamic inertia. If it can be deflected with minimal effort, then it will have little dynamic inertia.
Static inertia
Static inertia is associated with the state of rest of a body. If little force is needed to move it, then it has little static inertia. If a huge effort must be applied, that even machinery must be used, then it will have great static inertia.
Translational inertia
It is the type of inertia that contains dynamic and static inertia as a larger category. They are related to the total mass of a body, and the efforts to move or transfer the object from one point to another are linked to it, either from its state of rest or from the movement it already has.
Rotational inertia
Rotational inertia has to do with the rotational movement of a body about its own axis. If the force applied to it is sufficient to stop it or make it change direction in the turn, then it is said to have little rotational inertia. On the other hand, if you continue with your movement without altering yourself, you will have a high rotational inertia.
Thermal inertia
Thermal inertia is the resistance that a substance or body opposes to its temperature being high. This property will depend on the substance in question, because it is defined by its specific heat (Cp). If the substance heats up quickly, it has little thermal inertia. If a lot of heat has been supplied to it but its temperature remains fixed, then it has a high thermal inertia.
20 examples of inertia:
- The one that when removing a tablecloth quickly from a table, leaving what is on top of the tablecloth on, is a product of inertia.
- When we run at high speed we have a harder time stopping thanks to inertia.
- When you push a car that is at rest, it is difficult at first due to the inertia that opposes the movement, once it begins to move it is easier to push it, thanks to the inertia it now has in motion.
- When a car makes a turn, the passengers feel a force that pushes them to follow the direction of the initial movement, this is because the inertia they were carrying was in that direction.
- Turning around in a boat is more difficult than in a motorboat, since the inertia of the boat is much greater than that of the motorboat.
- Stopping a ship takes several kilometers, due to the inertia they have in motion.
- Water has more thermal inertia than coolants, since it is more difficult for water to gain and lose heat.
- Copper transports heat more easily than aluminum, therefore it has less thermal inertia.
- The one that after having pedaled on a bicycle we continue to advance without pedaling, is the product of inertia.
- The fact that a glass of water that is served to us in a plane that travels at high speed and does not fall, is a product of the inertia that is inside the plane.
- The rapid descent of the slope that occurs in a roller coaster, which allows it to accumulate enough potential energy to rise again, is produced by inertia.
- The result of the villar balls hitting the other balls consecutively is the result of the inertia produced.
- The drying of the clothes by means of a centrifuge is carried out thanks to the inertial force.
- the difficulty of moving a locomotive, which is produced by inertia (at rest), which it has.
- Wood has more thermal inertia than steel, because it is easier for steel to gain and lose heat than it is for wood.
- The feeling of push that you feel when you get on the roller coaster is produced by the force of inertia.
- Houses built of adobe have greater thermal inertia than those built of concrete, because changing the temperature of adobe is more difficult than that of concrete.
- Separating different substances through centrifugation is caused by inertia.
- If we run and suddenly stop, our body continues forward, thanks to the force produced by inertia.
- If a car comes to a sudden stop, a passenger not wearing their seat belt will be thrown forward due to inertia.