A few days ago
Anonymous

Can an object be in motion if no external forces are acting on it?

Can an object be in motion if no external forces are acting on it?

Top 4 Answers
A few days ago
… !

Favorite Answer

according to newton’s first law, yes it could be: an obj. with CONSTANT velocity (no acceleration, no external force) stays in motion.

now, it could also be in a RELATIVE motion, but that would fit in Einstein’s theory of relativity.

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A few days ago
edthespartan
Sure – two possibilities. First, once an object has been put into motion (by an external force), it will simply remain in motion until some other external force acts upon it. Second, motion is relative. If an object is just sittin’ there, doing nothing, minding its own business, and you observe it from another object that’s moving, it will appear to be moving from your relative position. But no external force is acting on it, dig? Or did I just blow your mind?
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A few days ago
cgflann
If it is not already in motion then no (law of inertia). However if an object is already in motion, it will pretty much continue in motion forever if there are no external forces acting upon it. On the earth, that is impossible because you have things like gravity, wind resistance, friction, etc. However, Newton’s laws assumed motion in a vacuum.
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A few days ago
Jean S
Can I just say that I really hate Physics? Because I do. I really, really do.
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