Can an object in space remain still?

Question

A question was asked to me about Newton's law of motion. It asked, "Supposing you were in space in a weightless environment, would it require a force to set an object in motion?" My initial thought was that in space, there is no gravity or friction, and therefore an object would stay in motion forever. However, it was revealed to me that force is still required to move an object in space and that the object still has inertia, which resists change in motion. But my initial thought still stands. So I guess my question is: Can an object be in a perfectly still state in space?

Answer 1

In general relativity, there is no gravitational force, there's just the warping of spacetime in the neighborhood of mass. So any object moving in space, unaffected by friction or collisions or other forces, simply moves along a straight trajectory along a linear metric. You are free to choose any inertial reference frame, so just choose one where the object is at rest. Thus, every celestial object is at rest. That's why they maintain their trajectories and orbits indefinitely without expending energy.

Answer 2

Even in space there is gravity, although it is weak. Therefore no object would be perfectly still state in space. But you are wrong, inertia is still there. Watch a video of the people in the space shuttle who are in free fall. They have to shove an object to get the object going. Object will float in the air without moving.

Answer 3

yes i think it can. the force is required to move the object where it shall remain at a constant speed until it interacts with something else, either another object or another force, but if the object was still to begin with and no force put upon it then it would stay the same. It's like the flag on the moon, the flag doesn't move at all because there is no wind and no other forces move it, therefore it remains motionless.

Answer 4

Yes, without any outside force in a weightless environment an object will remain still .

But, the planets, moons, and any large objects in space have their own natural gravity that will attract and object, so no.

Answer 5

You are incorrect with your initial assumption that "there is no gravity or friction." There is gravity everywhere, even in "space". And perfectly still is relative to the observer, so yes and no. Like a man on a train: the paper on a seat next to him will appear to be perfectly still, while to a person outside the train, the paper will appear to be moving at the same speed as the train.

Answer 6

if you were in space and "released" an object pushing it away, it will keep on moving because no force will stop it. but if you released the object making sure it won't move, then it won't unless a force (ex. gravity) has something to do with it, although i don't think you won't be able to release an object without making it move just a tiny bit .

i believe that this is called INERTIA.

Answer 7

Yes. If all forces on the object are in equilibrium than the object will remain stationary. As far as we know that would be very rare in our space, but its so huge there must be thousands of examples.

Answer 8

If the sum of the forces acting on an object equals zero an object has a constant velocity (which can include a zero velocity).

Answer 9

Everything is composed of matter that vibrates on the most minute level; should the vibration cease the matter would cease to exist. An object cannot be perfectly still because, as an object, it is vibrating (moving) at its most basic level.

Answer 10

the relational stillness is relative to distance from object and the objects rate of motion, and the perceptual method of observation as well of the motion of the perceiving organism or mechanism.