An inertia damper is a device that counters or damps the effects of

inertia Inertia is the idea that an object will continue its current motion until some force causes its speed or direction to change. The term is properly understood as shorthand for "the principle of inertia" as described by Newton in his first law ...

and other forces and motion. The damper does not negate the forces but either absorbs or redirects them by other means. For example, a large and heavy suspended body may be used to absorb several short-duration large forces, and to reapply those forces as a smaller force over a longer period. The phrase ''inertial damper'' is actually misused in

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

to describe a device that negates inertia and removes it from surrounding

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

. It is more properly described as inertia negation.

Real-world applications and devices

Inertial compensators are also used in simulators or rides, making them more realistic by creating artificial sensations of acceleration and other movement. The Disneyland ride “Star Tours: The Adventure Continues” is a fair example of this principle. There are many types of physical devices that can act as inertia dampers: *

Ballast Ballast is material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship, ...

Brakes A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction. Background ...

- kinetic energy redirected as heating due to friction between surfaces pressed together *

Counterweight A counterweight is a weight that, by applying an opposite force, provides balance and stability of a mechanical system. The purpose of a counterweight is to make lifting the load faster and more efficient, which saves energy and causes less wear ...

- a mass which by mechanical means is caused to move in opposition to the motion of some other mass, partially negating forces such as gravity, that are acting upon the primary mass * Dogbone damper - absorbs resonant wave motions in wire and support cables *

Flywheel A flywheel is a mechanical device which uses the conservation of angular momentum to store rotational energy; a form of kinetic energy proportional to the product of its moment of inertia and the square of its rotational speed. In particular, ass ...

- rotational forces *

Pendulum A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward the ...

- oscillatory forces *

Shock absorber A shock absorber or damper is a mechanical or hydraulic device designed to absorb and damp shock impulses. It does this by converting the kinetic energy of the shock into another form of energy (typically heat) which is then dissipated. Most sh ...

- motion redirected as heating of viscous oil forced through a restrictive passage * Rotary damper - rotary motion is dissipated as heat in a highly viscous fluid or gel. May use a smooth surface rotating cylinder and a smooth surface stationary interior wall with fluid/gel between. For more forceful motion absorption and higher surface area, a paddle wheel or toothed gear is used, with a similarly ribbed or studded stationary interior wall to more forcefully grip the fluid/gel. Phytron: ftp://ftp.phytron.de/phytron-usa/equipment/damper/dmp-us.pdf

References

Force Mass {{physics-stub