Proper acceleration

Proper acceleration is a way of measuring how much something is changing its speed or direction. Imagine you are sitting in a car and it starts moving forward. You might feel like you are being pushed back into your seat. This feeling is called acceleration. However, if the car is moving at a constant speed, you won't feel any acceleration, even though you are still moving.

Now, imagine that the car starts turning a corner. You feel like you are being pushed to one side. This is also acceleration. Proper acceleration measures how much you are being pushed in a certain direction when the speed or direction of something is changing. It's like a way of measuring how much force is being exerted on you.

Imagine you are sitting in a rocket ship that is taking off into space. As the ship speeds up, you feel like you are being pushed back into your seat. This is acceleration. If the rocket ship continues to speed up, you will feel more and more force pushing on you, which means your proper acceleration is getting higher.

Proper acceleration is important because it tells us how much force is being applied to an object, like a rocket ship or a car, as it speeds up or changes direction. Scientists use proper acceleration to study everything from space travel to the physics of cars and airplanes.