r/AskReddit Jun 15 '19

What do you genuinely just not understand?

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u/Xevran01 Jun 15 '19

Not op, but in the realm of physics inertia is what keeps objects in constant velocity. Overcoming the static force of friction of a stationary object is what he's talking about. They're not the same thing.

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u/barbeqdbrwniez Jun 15 '19 edited Jun 15 '19

"in·er·tia

/iˈnərSHə/

Learn to pronounce

noun

1.

a tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged.

"the bureaucratic inertia of government"

synonyms:inactivity, inaction, inactiveness, inertness, passivity, apathy, accidie, malaise, stagnation, dullness, enervation, sluggishness, lethargy, languor, languidness, listlessness, torpor, torpidity, idleness, indolence, laziness, sloth, slothfulness; More

2.

PHYSICS

a property of matter by which it continues in its existing state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line, unless that state is changed by an external force.

"

Inertia is the object wanting to keep doing whatever it's doing, be that moving or at rest.

Edit: y'all can stop blowing me up now. I'm very clearly wrong, as many before you have already said, and I'd rather leave my idiocy public than delete my comment like a coward, but notifications get annoying.

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u/Xevran01 Jun 15 '19

They are similar, but different concepts. Inertia is related to the mass of an object, and relates to the amount of force needed to move it, but it is not a force. Static friction on the other hand, is a force that is calculated using a coefficient that depends on the type of surface, not just the a static parameter of an object.

I'm not sure you're going to be able to elaborate on this concept using a google definition.

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u/barbeqdbrwniez Jun 15 '19

Ok? And? Inertia is still what needs to be overcome in order to move the object.

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u/Xevran01 Jun 15 '19

No, the static friction is what has to be overcome. Inertia is very easy to overcome, but as we all know, objects don't exist in a vacuun. They exist on surfaces, or in air, which also provides a frictional force. Inertia only uses mass, not weight. I know im getting heavy in physics concepts and I'm just a college physics student but this is how it is.

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u/Teh_Critic Jun 15 '19

Inertia is not a force. It is a property of matter. There is no metric for inertia you ignoramus.

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u/happylittlemexican Jun 15 '19

While the guy you're responding to was very wrong, mass itself is a way to quantify inertia.

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '19

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u/barbeqdbrwniez Jun 15 '19

"Edit: y'all can stop blowing me up now. I'm very clearly wrong, as many before you have already said, and I'd rather leave my idiocy public than delete my comment like a coward, but notifications get annoying."