What I mean is that e.g. when you drive a car and stop abruptly your body for a moment is still going the previous speed and direction of the car. Why does that happen? Why doesn’t your body stop with the car
What I mean is that e.g. when you drive a car and stop abruptly your body for a moment is still going the previous speed and direction of the car. Why does that happen? Why doesn’t your body stop with the car
Comments
Your body doesn’t stop with the car because it’s not part of the car and an object in motion (your body in this case) stays in motion unless acted upon by an external force (friction, seat belt, etc)
Conservation of momentum. Something has to stop you. The brakes stop the car, and the car (seatbelt etc) stops you.
An object in motion will stay in motion, and an object at rest will stay at rest. Look up the Newtonian laws of motion. You need to have a force acting on you to change your speed and direction, so in order for you to come to a stop with your car, your seatbelt has to push on you to stop you.
There are many flexible parts between the wheels and your head.
Firstly, the wheels stop but the tires are a bit soft so they deform before the car body stops. Then there is how the wheels mount to the body which twists a little before the body stops. Then there are the seats which are soft for your comfort which can flex before they move you. Your body is also soft and will deform a bit before you notice the full stop.
All these things are delaying or slowing how quickly you stop.
Momentum and how your body is attached to the car.
To stop something that is moving, a force must be exerted, somehow. Your car and body are different objects. If you want them to act as a single object you have to connect them together. A seat belt is one way, not perfect. Try a racing harness and you’ll get closer.
Every piece of matter has it’s own momentum and requires forces to change that.
Because you’re not part of the car, but you share its momentum. When it stops you keep going until you’re stopped by the belt. If you were glued to the seat you’d stop right away, but you’d feel your organs shift because they’re not as tightly attached to the car. If you were melded to the car like a cronenberg nightmare you’d stop immediately.
ELI18: because of causality. Momentum takes time to propagate in all matter, even if we perceive it to be instantaneous.
Inertia
Things in motion tend to stay in motion. Things at rest, tend to stay at rest, unless acted upon by a force.
You are in motion, you stay in motion. The force that stops you is hopefully a seat beat and the friction against the fabric of the seat.