Inertial Reference Frames?

Which of the following are inertial reference frames? Why or why not?





a. the space shuttle orbiting the earth





b. a rocket launching from Florida





c. a centrifuge at a carnival








Please help me, Lol

Inertial Reference Frames?
None - there is no such thing. You can only have an approximately inertial reference frame, not an actually inertial reference frame. An inertial reference frame is an idealization.





You might suppose the Earth is an inertial reference frame, but it is in fact accelerating because of its motion around the sun. The sun might also seem like a good basis for an inertial reference frame, but it revolves around the center of the galaxy. So on and so on. Even the universe as a whole is expanding.








From the source I listed: "A reference frame or coordinate system in which there are no accelerations, only zero or uniform motion in a straight line."





Your space shuttle is orbiting the Earth and thus the coordinate system is accelerating (a = v^2 / r).





A is NOT an IRF. The reference frame is accelerating.
Reply:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertial_fr...


"A fundamental principle of all physics is the equivalence of inertial reference frames. In practical terms, this equivalence means that scientists living inside an enclosed box moving uniformly cannot detect their motion by any experiment done exclusively inside the box.





By contrast, bodies are subject to so-called fictitious forces in non-inertial reference frames; that is, forces that result from the acceleration of the reference frame itself and not from any physical force acting on the body. Examples of fictitious forces are the centrifugal force and the Coriolis force in rotating reference frames. Therefore, scientists living inside a box that is being rotated or otherwise accelerated can measure their acceleration by observing the fictitious forces on bodies inside the box."