It seems to me that Newton made it very plain that his
laws of motion applied in an inertial frame of reference.
It seems to me that if we are going to deal with nature in
a Newtonian framework we need to understand that in
non-inertial frames of reference the laws of physics may be
altered. In particular, inertial forces may appear. I
don't want anyone to call them pseudoforces or anything
like that, but it can't hurt to point out that they arise
because of the frame or reference which is used.
It would be wonderful if we could begin with some kind of
covariant laws and all reference frames are equivalent
approach, but I fear that this will lead to more confusion
than enlightenment in all but the most advanced physics
courses. WBN
Barlow Newbolt
Department of Physics and Engineering
Washington and Lee University
Lexington, VA 24450
There is something fascinating about science. One
gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of
such trifling investments of fact.
Mark Twain
Telephone and Phone Mail: 540-463-8881
Fax: 540-463-8884
e-mail: NewboltW@madison.acad.wlu.edu