If time was stopped, is inertia conserved?

In summary, if you stopped time, everything would stay the same. Bullets would still fall to the ground from mid-air, and time would be more or less measured by the change of state of some system or other.
  • #1
Mk
2,043
4
Ok, if I stopped time, and started it again. Would all the inertia of everything be "forgotten?" Or "remembered?" Would bullets suddenly fall to the ground from mid-air? Do you understand me?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
As much as I hate to admit it, I do understand you. :-p
Unfortunately, we can't stop time. If we could, I'd still be 25 years old. By relativity, all inertial frames have their own time. The only way to stop it is to travel at light speed. Since only massless particles can do that, there is no inertia to conserve. Time is more or less measured by the change of state of some system or other, so stopping it would by definition prevent any change at all from occurring. The closest that you can get is to take a picture of something. That's one instant of time frozen in place.
 
  • #3
If you think about it, when you 'see' something, it's all about light hitting your eyes. So if time stopped, light would no longer travel and you would (of course, this can't happen as time's stopped for you as well) see nothing. I'm probably horrible wrong, but oh well.
 
  • #4
Inertia is resistance to acceleration and its units do not include time - so what does that have to do with bullets falling to the ground?
 
  • #5
Yes, if time stopped, laws of physics would indeed be violated. But this sentence is devoid of any meaning. Time not stopping IS one of the laws of nature, so it's like asking "If the Earth were flat, what would it be resting on?".
 
  • #6
Falling of bullets back to the ground from mid-air is again an order of events ... whihc is titled 'time' again! ... STopping time would simply limit increase/decrease the fourth coordinate of the proposed space-time structure.Gained inertia maybe from a force or a collision , because the result of inertia is another 'set of ordered events appropriately responding to the action as per the laws of physics' , all these ordered events can perform each step of the order ONLY when the fourth coordinate time moves forward . Thus stopping time would simply restrict motion , bringing the object to a standstill.

BJ
 

FAQ: If time was stopped, is inertia conserved?

What is inertia?

Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion. This means that an object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will continue moving in the same direction and at the same speed, unless acted upon by an external force.

How is inertia related to the concept of time being stopped?

If time was stopped, it would mean that there is no change or movement occurring. In this scenario, objects would have no external forces acting upon them, meaning that their inertia would be conserved. Objects would remain in their current state without any changes in motion.

Would inertia still exist if time was stopped?

Yes, inertia would still exist if time was stopped. This is because inertia is a fundamental property of matter and is not dependent on the passage of time. In fact, it is the absence of time and changes in motion that allows inertia to be conserved.

How does the concept of inertia relate to the laws of motion?

Inertia is one of the three laws of motion, also known as Newton's first law. It states that an object will remain at rest or in motion unless acted upon by an external force. This law is closely related to the concept of time being stopped, as both involve the absence of external forces causing changes in motion.

Is there any scientific evidence to support the idea of inertia being conserved if time was stopped?

While there is currently no way to test or prove the idea of time being stopped, the concept of inertia being conserved in this scenario is supported by the laws of physics. Inertia is a well-established principle that has been tested and proven through various experiments and observations, making it a credible concept in relation to the idea of time being stopped.

Similar threads

Back
Top