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Jarad
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Reged: 04/28/03
Posts: 4330
Loc: Atlanta, GA
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Quote:
Still, an object in earth orbit is a rotating frame. That it is rotating can be discerned by experiment within the frame. Can a rotating frame truly be a 'rest frame'?
Not necessarily. If the spacecraft is rotating to keep the same side facing the earth as it orbits, then it is a rotating frame. But if it does not rotate as it orbits, it is not a rotating frame. For example, the Hubble Space Telescope does not rotate - if it did, the "frame" of the CCD camera would have star trails like a shot of the sky from a fixed tripod on earth. It keeps it orientation relative to the stars, and is a non-rotating rest frame.
Quote:
An orbiting object is not an inertial frame of reference relative to the planet itself.
There is a difference between inertial frames and rest frames. Two frames can both be rest frames, but not at rest relative to each other. You could also have non-rest frames that are at rest relative to each other (for example, a car on the highway going parallel to a train on a track at the same speed).
Jarad
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Edited by Jarad (11/03/09 03:23 PM)
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hwhall
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Reged: 09/22/08
Posts: 189
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Not necessarily. If the spacecraft is rotating to keep the same side facing the earth as it orbits, then it is a rotating frame. But if it does not rotate as it orbits, it is not a rotating frame. For example, the Hubble Space Telescope does not rotate
Doh!  I should have remembered that.
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