Thursday, November 13, 2008

What is frame of reference and how does it affect the description of an object’s motion?

Frame of reference, in simplest terms, describes the state of motion of the observer. The frame of reference may also be described by using a set of coordinates, time and motion. We formulate all our equations and solve them using the frame of reference.


The frame of reference determines how the motion is perceived. For example, if the observer A is stationary and a car moves towards right at a speed of 10 m/s; we will describe the speed of car as 10 m/s to the right. However, if A starts moving towards right at a speed of 4 m/s, then the speed of car will only be observed as 6 m/s (= 10-4 m/s). If A is moving towards left at 5 m/s, then the speed of the car will be observed (by A) as 15 m/s (= 10+5 m/s) towards right.  Hence the motion of an object will be perceived differently depending upon the frame of reference.


Hope this helps.  

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