Question

Can a body exist in a state of absolute rest or absolute motion? Explain

Answer 1

Hint: We know that rest and motion are the two states which describes the object with respect to its initial position and time frame. We also know that at any given instant, the motion is either in motion or in rest with respect to the frames of reference.

Complete step-by-step solution:
We know that the study of motions, called the kinematics classifies or describes the object in two states. Namely, the state of rest and the state of motion. However, these are dependent on various factors, like the reference of the observer and the reference of the object itself.
We know that an object is said to be at a state of rest, when there is no change in its position, over a duration of time with respect to a stationary observer. However, if the observer is in motion, then the observer perceives the object to be in motion.
Thus, we can say that rest and motion are relative to each other.
And similarly, an object is said to be in motion to a stationary observer, if the object covers some distance during the given time interval. Also, If both the observer and the object are in motion, then the observer perceives a relative motion. This relative motion depends on the speed and the direction of the two moving objects, here the observer and the object.
Thus, we can conclude that there is no absolute rest or absolute motion which can exist.

Note: The term absolute is often used in physics to refer or denote a hypothetical situation. This is an ideal situation which doesn’t exist in reality. Hence from the term, we can also identify that absolute rest or absolute motion is a hypothetical situation.