what is inertia and why does it happen?
In: Physics
Inertia is the resistance of a physical object to any change in how it’s moving. If the object is stationary, it doesn’t want to start moving. If the object is already moving, it doesn’t want to change how fast it’s moving or what direction it’s going. To get the object to start moving, or to change how it’s moving, we have to apply a force. The force we apply, and the resulting change in the way the object moves, can be used to define and measure the object’s “mass”, which is the amount of physical stuff in an object.
(The other way we define and measure an object’s mass is by the gravitational effect the object has on other objects. This connection between inertia and gravity seems weird and surprising, but it’s a really important feature of how the universe works.)
Edit: grammar/clarity.
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