Proper acceleration

In relativity theory, proper acceleration^[1] is the physical acceleration (i.e., measurable acceleration as by an accelerometer) experienced by an object. It is thus acceleration relative to a free-fall, or inertial, observer who is momentarily at rest relative to the object being measured. Gravitation therefore does not cause proper acceleration, because the same gravity acts equally on the inertial observer. As a consequence, all inertial observers always have a proper acceleration of zero.

Proper acceleration contrasts with coordinate acceleration, which is dependent on choice of coordinate systems and thus upon choice of observers (see three-acceleration in special relativity).

In the standard inertial coordinates of special relativity, for unidirectional motion, proper acceleration is the rate of change of proper velocity with respect to coordinate time.

In an inertial frame in which the object is momentarily at rest, the proper acceleration 3-vector, combined with a zero time-component, yields the object's four-acceleration, which makes proper-acceleration's magnitude Lorentz-invariant. Thus the concept is useful: (i) with accelerated coordinate systems, (ii) at relativistic speeds, and (iii) in curved spacetime.

In an accelerating rocket after launch, or even in a rocket standing on the launch pad, the proper acceleration is the acceleration felt by the occupants, and which is described as g-force (which is not a force but rather an acceleration; see that article for more discussion) delivered by the vehicle only.^[2] The "acceleration of gravity" (involved in the "force of gravity") never contributes to proper acceleration in any circumstances, and thus the proper acceleration felt by observers standing on the ground is due to the mechanical force from the ground, not due to the "force" or "acceleration" of gravity. If the ground is removed and the observer allowed to free-fall, the observer will experience coordinate acceleration, but no proper acceleration, and thus no g-force. Generally, objects in a state of inertial motion, also called free-fall or a ballistic path (including objects in orbit) experience no proper acceleration (neglecting small tidal accelerations for inertial paths in gravitational fields). This state is also known as "zero gravity" ("zero-g") or "free-fall," and it produces a sensation of weightlessness.

Proper acceleration reduces to coordinate acceleration in an inertial coordinate system in flat spacetime (i.e. in the absence of gravity), provided the magnitude of the object's proper-velocity^[3] (momentum per unit mass) is much less than the speed of light c. Only in such situations is coordinate acceleration entirely felt as a g-force (i.e. a proper acceleration, also defined as one that produces measurable weight).

In situations in which gravitation is absent but the chosen coordinate system is not inertial, but is accelerated with the observer (such as the accelerated reference frame of an accelerating rocket, or a frame fixed upon objects in a centrifuge), then g-forces and corresponding proper accelerations felt by observers in these coordinate systems are caused by the mechanical forces which resist their weight in such systems. This weight, in turn, is produced by fictitious forces or "inertial forces" which appear in all such accelerated coordinate systems, in a manner somewhat like the weight produced by the "force of gravity" in systems where objects are fixed in space with regard to the gravitating body (as on the surface of the Earth).

The total (mechanical) force that is calculated to induce the proper acceleration on a mass at rest in a coordinate system that has a proper acceleration, via Newton's law F = ma, is called the proper force. As seen above, the proper force is equal to the opposing reaction force that is measured as an object's "operational weight" (i.e. its weight as measured by a device like a spring scale, in vacuum, in the object's coordinate system). Thus, the proper force on an object is always equal and opposite to its measured weight.