The Earth is at absolute rest

At college and university students are taught that the laws of Mechanics are valid in all inertial frames of reference in the same form, and that no frame is preferred and hence no absolute speed can be determined, no object can be said to be at rest absolutely.

On the other hand, simple considerations suffice to debunk such nonsense.

A car with a mass of m = 1000kg, at rest with respect to a road, is accelerated to a speed of v = 100km/h = 100 1000m/3600s = 27.78m/s. The kinetic energy 1/2 m v^2 of the car is

 E0  = 1/2 1000kg (  0km/h)^2 =   0
  E1  = 1/2 1000kg (100km/h)^2 = 385.80kJ
  E   = E1 - E0 = 385.80kJ

At rest, speed and kinetic energy E0 are 0. At 100km/h the kinetic energy E1 is 385.80kJ. To increase the speed of the car we need at least E = E1 - E0 = 385.80kJ.

Astronomers say that the Earth is moving at about 108,000 km/h = 30m/s around the sun.

Our road is at rest in an inertial frame of reference S. Let the road be moved with respect to another inertial frame of reference S', such that in S' the car is being accelerated from 108,000km/h to 108,100km/h. Then, in S' we have:

 E0' = 1/2 1000kg (108,000km/h)^2 = 450.000GJ
  E1' = 1/2 1000kg (108,100km/h)^2 = 450.834GJ
  E'  = E1' - E0' = 834MJ

The energy value of gasoline is around 30MJ/l. Calculations in S' say that we need at least 27,8l or more than 3 gallons of gasoline to increase the speed of the car.

Everybody knows that that's not true. Real cars in the real world surely use a lot more energy than the minimum calculated with respect to S, but 3 gallons obviously are way too much.


Consequently, energy calculations are not correct in all inertial frames. Engineers and experimental physicists know that calculations work out correctly in Earth-fixed frames, where the earth is at absolute rest. In these frames speed values are absolute speed values and resulting amounts of gasoline correspond to reality.

Contrary to what physicists teach, some frames are preferred, and the preferred frames are at rest with respect to each other and with respect to the Earth. Absolute speed can be determined corresponding to absolute kinetic energy values and equivalent amounts of chemical energy. There is absolute rest and absolute movement.

The Earth is at absolute rest

At college and university students are taught that the laws of Mechanics are valid in all inertial frames of reference in the same form, and that no frame is preferred and hence no absolute speed can be determined, no object can be said to be at rest absolutely.

One of the key words there is "inertial".

If you're on a cruise ship that appears to be moving, and you start walking you won't feel any difference in power needs to go toward the bow or toward the stern. Does that mean the ship itself isn't moving? No. The ship closely approximates an inertial reference frame to a person walking on deck.

And to Bennet's "argument", I think average "college and university students" would recognize a few problems, some of which are:
- it changes reference frames
- at least one of the frames is not inertial
- even if both frames were inertial, KE calculated in one frame is not necessarily the same in another frame
- KE of different objects are also not necessarily the same


https://xkcd.com/162/