Question

A collision experiment is done on a horizontal table kept in an elevator. Do you expect a change in the result if the elevator is accelerated up or down because of the noninertial character of the frame?

Answer 1

A collision experiment is done on a horizontal table kept in an elevator. But in the results, there cannot be any change.

Explanation:

• In the horizontal plane of the table, there cannot be any motion effect as acceleration is in the vertical direction. Thus, the experiment results’ collision will stay the same.
• When the body’s motion is analyzed with regard to a non-inertial frame, a pseudo force on the body opposite to the acceleration’s direction of the border is added.
• Since there is an acceleration of the elevator only in vertical direction, the pseudo force’s direction is also vertical. The body’s horizontal movement is not affected.
• So, in the elevator, on a horizontal table, the collision experiment is performed when the elevator is accelerated down or up.