Inertial compensator
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Inertial compensators, or inertial dampers (as they are more often called) are fictional devices aboard starships in some science fiction series, including Star Wars and Star Trek. Their purpose is to act as a form of universal seat belt, protecting crews from the inertial forces caused by rapid ship acceleration. As one Star Trek writer put it, without the technology, crews would risk being turned into "chunky salsa" from the force of being thrown inside the ship.
The inertial dampers as portrayed in Star Trek are not capable of stabilizing the interior of a ship from unexpected movement, as evidenced by crew members being flung from their posts when a ship is attacked. The use of seatbelts is obviously unknown, but in a scene cut from the movie Star Trek: Nemesis seatbelts are installed on the Enterprise.
The inertial compensator in the Star Wars series is used in spaceships especially fighters and fighter simulators. This technology allows pilots to fly in space where there is no gravity. This could also be used in simulators, because it can create artificial gravity which makes the simulators more realistic.
There has also been some use in science fiction of inertia as a form of acceleration. The workings of this are rather more obscure than is usual in science fiction however. The Inertial dampers of star trek are not allowed by the laws of physics.*Template:ST-stub