When in a traveling car with sunglasses on the dashboard.....?

Question

if you turn left, why would the glasses move right? Is it the gravitatonal force?

Answer 1

INERTIA

The glasses don't move right, they tend to move in a straight line and it is the car which moves left.

p.s.: Centrifugal force is not a real force, it is imaginary (virtual).

Answer 2

Your sunglasses are traveling straight - and unless they are acted upon by another force, they will continue to travel straight.

They don't "move right" - it's the car that moves under them to the left - the glasses are merely trying to overcome the friction of the dash board and continue on a straight path.

Answer 3

No it's called the Centrifugal force.
As you turn left, the glasses tend to carry on in a straight line so move right..

(Where does the 'Imaginary' come from with centrifugal force, ? I've worked with centrifugal pumps and compressors most of my life !)

Excerpt from the OXFORD English dictionary:

Centrifugal adj. Moving or tending to move outwards from a centre (cf. CENTRIPETAL). Centrifugally adv.
[ mod.L. centrifugus f. L centrum centre + fugere flee]

Centrifugal force n. an apparent force that acts outwards on a body moving about a centre. Centrifugal force is actually a manifestation of inertia. A body in uniform circular motion. e.g. at the end of a string fixed at the other end, is constantly accelerating because its direction of motion is always changing. The force causing this acceleration is actually centripetal and is manifested as tension in the string. If the string is cut (and the centripetal force ceases) the body will tend, through inertia, to move in a straight line at a tangent to its previous circular path. It is possible to assign a magnitude to the CENTRIFUGAL FORCE equal to that of the Centripetal Force.

Centrifuge n, & v. A container designed to rotate rapidly so as to apply Centrifugal Force to its contents, usu, in order to separate liquids from solids. Centrifugal separation of gases has been used to separate Uranium isotopes in the production of nuclear fuels.

Answer 4

yeah.. its the law of something (don't remember what sorry) it wants to keep going the same way it was going. when you stop quickly in a car you keep going forward until your seatbelt locks because the force transfers to you..asme idea with the glasses

Answer 5

its because of the gravitational force. when you turn one way, you lean the other. try walking in a tight circle, as you turn you'll notice your body leaning outwards.