In physics, the expression inertial space refers to the background reference that is provided by the phenomenon of inertia.
Inertia is opposition to change of velocity, that is: change of velocity with respect to the background, the background that all physical objects are embedded in. Accelerometers measure how hard an object is accelerating with respect to inertial space. More precisely, accelerometers measure the magnitude of the change of velocity with respect to inertial space.
The inertial guidance systems that are used in navigation and in guidance of missiles work by detecting acceleration and rotation with respect to inertial space.
Read more about Inertial Space: Derivatives With Respect To Time, Gyroscopes, Astronomy, Applications in Navigation
Famous quotes containing the word space:
“The peculiarity of sculpture is that it creates a three-dimensional object in space. Painting may strive to give on a two-dimensional plane, the illusion of space, but it is space itself as a perceived quantity that becomes the peculiar concern of the sculptor. We may say that for the painter space is a luxury; for the sculptor it is a necessity.”
—Sir Herbert Read (1893–1968)