Recent content by jocanon

Apperently I am not the only one that has this question. I just did some poking around on Google and found that some people believe inertia is the result of all the "fixed stars" mass interacting with ours while others believe it is an effect at the atomic level.

lol, i guess my simple mind is just not meant to understand this concept :)

So essentially, in the literal sense, there is no such thing as renewable energy.

What gives you that weight on the scale, or makes the ball fall? If everything is relative, you cannot say you are accelerating if you say the whole universe is accelerating around you...however, I know this isn't right because the scale WILL tell me I have weight, or the ball WILL fall, so...

Hm, that is interesting...so at least at some level it may be possible. I wonder if there is any other more practicle application though? Like a way of generating power here on Earth that we haven't thought of yet...it's sounding like the answer to that is probably no.

I see, so gravity is only potential energy because some object is higher than it has potential to fall. Once it falls it looses/drains that potential energy and must be moved back up again in order to create more potential energy and it takes work/energy to move it back up again. So there...

so I might be getting my terms wrong, but I know that inertia exists, I also think that modern day physicists believe that there is no fixed frame of reference...so I am still puzzled how these two facts can both be true. Because to say you are accelerating, you would have to compare motion...

So that being said, that gravity is not really the energy source, is there any conceptual possiblity where gravity could be an energy source in a more direct form?

Yes, that makes sense. I mean, I get that it exists, I just don't see how to reconcile it with the theory of relativity. It would reconcile in my mind if we still believed in Newton's concept of ether because then you have a fixed frame of reference.

But that is what I don't get, how does one measure whether or not the frame of reference is accelerating if you don't have a separate frame of reference to measure against? For instance, if there was only one object that existed in the universe, how would you measure that it is accelerating...

Inertia -- Why does it exist? Can someone explain to me in terms of a thought experiement (not equations, please) why it is that inertia exists given that motion is only defined as it relates to another point of reference and given that there is no fixed point of reference but everything is...

Centrifugal Force -- continue spinning indefinately in space? I believe it is correct that if you spin up an object in space, like a space ship, it will continue spinning indefinately unless/until another force is applied to stop it from spinning. Then centrifugal force would push the objects...

ah good point, you are absolutely right now that I think about it. Thanks.

Gravity -- use it as an energy source? If gravity is a force, why can't we use it as an energy source?