inertial force
Britishnoun
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012-
An apparent force that appears to affect bodies within a non-inertial frame, but is absent from the point of view of an inertial frame. Centrifugal forces and Coriolis forces, both observed in rotating systems, are inertial forces. Inertial forces are proportional to the body's mass.
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See also General Relativity
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“That base is able to handle the inertial force of the arm plus the box swinging at a fast weight, without having to rely on a several-thousand kilo steel plate bolted to the floor.”
From The Verge
As the water spins, the inertial force generates a pressure gradient steep enough to maintain a high vacuum at the centre of the gripper, while the pressure at the boundary remains equal to the atmospheric pressure.
From Nature
As the knot loosens, the swinging leg applies an inertial force on the free ends of the laces, leading to rapid unravelling in as little as two strides.
From BBC
Despite the elaborate protocols designed to correct mistakes and reverse unjust verdicts, there exists a powerful inertial force that ratifies past judgments even when they are manifestly flawed.
From Slate
This false balance problem is really part of a larger problem that says journalists must not have opinions, and this in turn is a problem with the profession’s inability to overcome the oppressive inertial force known as journalistic objectivity.
From Slate
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.