inertial force
physics
- Also called:
- Fictitious Force
- Related Topics:
- Coriolis force
- centrifugal force
- Coriolis effect
- beta effect
- Coriolis parameter
inertial force, any force invoked by an observer to maintain the validity of Isaac Newton’s second law of motion in a reference frame that is rotating or otherwise accelerating at a constant rate. For specific inertial forces, see centrifugal force; Coriolis force; d’Alembert’s principle.