A ball is whirled on a string, then the string breaks. What causes the ball to move off in a straight line?
2 Answers
It’s inertia, which is an inherent property of mass, not a force as is often claimed.
Explanation:
In essence, this is a demonstration of Newton’s first law (in 2D, so we can ignore the effects of gravity) which states that a body will continue in a straight line until acted on by an external force.
Inertia is, in effect, a tendency not to be accelerated. It is the resistance of mass to having its motion altered.
It's inertia.
Explanation:
According to Newton's first law of motion an object continues to be in its state of rest or of uniform motion unless an external force is applied.
When the ball is tied with a string, centripetal force applied at the center alobg the string allows it to move in a circular motion (or in arc, if it is hanging like a pendulum). But when the string breaks, this centripetal force is no longer there and due to its inertia the ball shoots of tangentially due to its inertia.
