The Fly “IN” the car

ummm .. okay, here’s something put this in perspective.
If you’re sitting in the front seat of your car. And assume that the seat is back-less. i.e there’s nothing to lean back on, like a bar-stool. Now, when the car is going at 120km/h, jump up from your seat, so that you’re in the air for split second. Does your body move towards the back of the car? No.

But if you’re sitting on the roof of a moving car and if you jump up for a split second, your landing position will be a little different than the starting position.

I think the air trapped in a closed car is actually still relative to the car. ANd that has SOMETHING to do with your ‘The Fly in the car’ phenomena.

so that was my crazy theory

Roll any of the windows down, get the fly to get close to the open window and see what happens.

Inertia, as far as I recall, was (and is) about the tendency of objects/people to remain at rest or in motion, unless an external force is applied to change that state.

That’s because the fly is inside the carand when you’re sitting in a car, even though you’re at rest, you’re actually in relative motion. That is why when a car gets into an accident, you’re thrown forward at the speed the car was running at.

Everyone wants to be a professor… wasn’t this supposed to be a simple question with simple answer?

Out of all the IMPRESSIVE explanations…where is the simple answer? I cant read between the lines….give it to me STRAIGHT OUT… THANKS :S

It’s called RELATIVITY. Raza already explained it. And sorry, there’s no simple answer to it. You’ll have to bear a lecture.

Suppose you are in a train, which has a huge cabin and you are playing table-tennis in it with your friend. You’ll be able to do that, right? But the train is moving in, say, direction X, and the ping pong is moving on the table in both directions X and -X — to and fro between you and your friend. That is because the motion of the ping pong is relative to its surroundings — the cabin — which is at rest with respect to the ping pong and to you, but which is in motion with respect to someone outside the train.

Confused you more? Was hoping for that!

Let’s tone it down a little. Suppose you are again in a train and you throw a ball straight up in the air. It falls back into your hand. Why? Why doesn’t it fall some steps ahead or back of you? Because the ball is travelling as fast as the train during its rise and fall. So are you. And yes, that’s where inertia comes too — if the train stops with a jerk, you’ll fall in the direction of the train, because your body will try to maintain that state of motion.

Of course, all of the above is a very simplistic version and assumes motion in a straight line and with constant speed. On high — I mean, HIGH — accelerations and non-straight motion paths, these rules change, but in real life we rarely come across these situations. The acceleration are not too high, therefore the changes in the positions of the ball or the ping pong are barely noticeable.

Of course, inertia is noticeable when, God forbid, our car gets slammed into something. Or that push we get when the bus comes to a sudden halt.

Disclaimer: Above is all neem-hakeemish knowledge (I haven’t studied physics in ages), so believe at your own risk. Feel free to correct, though!

Yar Umar bhai … if it was irritating you so much!!

You could have let it go out of your car!!
lolz…
itna na sochein!!! the einstien inside you trying to wake up!!
kill him… =D

cant. i suck at maths n science…but if u do solve the mystery put it up on ur blog to enlighten us too!

*scratches his head*

Meray bhai, I already told you that my knowledge is neem-hakeemish. Peenay pilanay ki baat doosri hai!

I believe that the fly would feel the jolt as well if sudden brakes are applied. See, the air inside the car is also travelling at the same speed, and its molecules also do have some inertia, no? (If the air does not travel at the same speed, then there is now way that you can get the ball fall at the same place in the train example.) So, theoretically, air molecules will also get jumbled up, disturbing the flight of the fly. Think of the fly trying to maintain its flight in the wind — the sudden brake will create a momentary “wind” for the fly, which will affect its position.

*reads the above*

Hmm.

Baradar-e-mohtaram, that table tennis example holds true. As long as the train does not stop abruptly or turn sharply, there’s no problem with playing table tennis. The momentary wind will only occur at the jolt, which will change the direction/position of the fly, the ball, or the ping pong.

But, yes, we really should leave this to real physicists!

Off-topic: I know you hate it, but you’ve still been tagged.

I think we should let the fly be happy wherever it is whether IN the car or outside and go back to living HAPPILY EVER AFTER AS WELL…