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I am new to studying Special Relativity and have some trouble truly understanding what the phrase (Frame of Reference) tries to imply.

So I understand that an inertial frame of reference, for example, is one where newton's first law hold. I am a little confused about when they wouldn't hold..

The famous merry-go-round example of non-inertial frames of reference suggests, by definition, that from some point of view, or from a certain angle, Newton's 1st law doesn't hold.. how is that?

I would appreciate if someone would provide some form of example by which I can understand what exactly is a frame of reference (like a camera looking at a physical system?), and what is the splitting hair between inertial and non-inertial ones. I've been searching and reading a lot, but I never had that "AHA!" moment.

Qmechanic
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The Feadow
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  • Have you ever tried playing catch (tossing a ball back & forth) on a roundabout? It's not easy! – PM 2Ring Aug 12 '19 at 16:18
  • I wonder why the moderators marked as duplicate without reading the content of the question. I was referred to another page that doesn't answer my question. I clearly asked in what way do Newton's laws not hold in non-inertial frames and provided an example to work on. Why is it so difficult to ask a question here? – The Feadow Aug 12 '19 at 19:43
  • Your question was closed by normal community members, not moderators. You can edit your question to explain why the linked question doesn't answer your question, and then your question will go to a review queue where it will be considered for re-opening. – PM 2Ring Aug 12 '19 at 19:53
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    Currently, it's not clear why you don't see that Newton's 1st law doesn't work in non-inertial frames. Do you know about the fictitious forces that arise in non-inertial frames? – PM 2Ring Aug 12 '19 at 19:57
  • I've come across them (fictitious forces), but the point of the question was to ask about them, and what makes a frame that is non-inertial not comply with Newton's laws. I am new here. So thanks for the clarification. Would you mind clarifying how to edit my question so it addresses my point more directly? – The Feadow Aug 12 '19 at 20:05
  • Sorry, I don't know what you need to know that isn't covered in the linked answers. True, the linked question is mainly concerned with general relativity and you're just asking about Newtonian mechanics and special relativity, but the core point is the same: in a non-inertial frame objects move with nonlinear motion (thus contradicting Newton's 1st law) even though no real forces act on them, so we invoke fictitious forces to describe that nonlinear motion. – PM 2Ring Aug 12 '19 at 20:33
  • Thanks a lot for your time. I've done some reading and I mostly get it now. – The Feadow Aug 12 '19 at 21:14

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