question_answer

An astronaut accidentally gets thrown out of his small spaceship accelerating in inter-stellar space at a constant rate of\[\mathbf{100}\text{ }\mathbf{m}{{\mathbf{s}}^{\mathbf{-2}}}\]. What is the acceleration of the astronaut the instant after he is outside the spaceship?                            

Answer:

                Assuming that there are no nearby stars to exert gravitational force and the small spaceship exerts negligible gravitational force on the astronaut, then moment he gets out of the ship, there is no external force on him. By the first law of motion, the acceleration of the astronaut is zero.