Non-inertial reference frame

A reference frame that accelerates or rotates relative to an inertial frame. Newton’s laws in it require fictitious forces to account for the frame’s motion.

Fictitious force: An apparent force introduced to apply Newton’s laws in an accelerating or rotating reference frame. It accounts for the frame’s acceleration when describing motion within this frame.
Inertial frame of reference: A frame in which free bodies move at constant velocity and Newton’s first law holds without fictitious forces. It provides the baseline against which this frame’s acceleration is defined.
Earth-centered inertial frame: A coordinate frame centered on Earth whose axes remain approximately fixed relative to distant stars. It is a useful approximate inertial reference for comparison with Earth-fixed coordinates.
General relativity: Einstein’s theory of gravitation, describing gravity through spacetime curvature rather than a Newtonian force. It extends the local connection between acceleration and gravity into a theory of spacetime.
Centrifugal force: An apparent outward force in a rotating frame, proportional to distance from its rotation axis. It appears when motion is described from a rotating version of this frame.
Reference frame: A coordinate system and clock used to describe the positions and motion of physical events. This frame is one kind of reference frame, distinguished by its motion.
Earth's rotation: Earth’s rotation about its axis, completing one turn relative to distant stars in about a sidereal day. It makes Earth-fixed frames rotate and produces measurable apparent forces.
Galilean transformation: The transformation between inertial frames in classical mechanics, preserving Newtonian time and relative velocities. It relates inertial frames, unlike transformations that introduce accelerating coordinates.
Coriolis force: An apparent force in a rotating frame that deflects moving objects perpendicular to their velocity and the rotation axis. It deflects moving objects when the chosen non-inertial frame rotates.
Newton's laws of motion: Three classical laws relating forces, mass, and the motion of bodies. Their usual form applies directly in inertial frames, not this one.

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Newtonian mechanicsCompared with: Newton’s laws require additional fictitious forces when expressed in such frames.