Does inertia apply to everything in the universe? Even subatomic?

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SUMMARY

Inertia applies to all entities with mass, including subatomic particles, with the exception of massless particles such as photons, gluons, and potentially gravitons. Neutrinos, previously thought to be massless, are now understood to possess a small mass, approximately a few electronvolts (eV), as evidenced by neutrino oscillation studies. Inertia is defined as the resistance of an object to changes in its state of motion, requiring force to accelerate a mass according to Newton's Second Law. Photons, while massless, do not possess kinetic energy in the traditional sense, as they travel at the speed of light.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Newton's Second Law
  • Basic knowledge of particle physics
  • Familiarity with concepts of mass and energy
  • Awareness of neutrino properties and oscillations
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the properties of massless particles, focusing on photons and gluons
  • Study neutrino oscillations and their implications for particle mass
  • Explore the relationship between inertia and force in classical mechanics
  • Investigate the concept of kinetic energy in the context of relativistic physics
USEFUL FOR

Students of physics, researchers in particle physics, and anyone interested in the fundamental principles of inertia and mass in the universe.

Quantumgravity
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Does inertia apply to EVERYTHING in the universe? Even subatomic particles? Or is there a certain mass limit where something no longer has the property of inertia?
 
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Quantumgravity said:
Does inertia apply to EVERYTHING in the universe? Even subatomic particles? Or is there a certain mass limit where something no longer has the property of inertia?

No, anything that has mass has inertia, as Russ said above. Of course, there are some particles which physicists believe do not have mass. Neutrinos are an example that comes to mind.
 
Does inertia just mean that it takes energy to move a mass?
 
Quantumgravity said:
Does inertia just mean that it takes energy to move a mass?

"Energy" isn't the right word, but you're moving in the right direction (no pun intended). It's possible for a particle to move without having kinetic energy. Photons, for example, move at a constant vacuum speed c. If an object has inertia, this means that force is required to accelerate it. Newton's Second Law tells us that mass is a resistance to force. So some constant force, when applied to objects of higher mass, will impart less acceleration to them. Thus, you could say that inertia is a measure of how much force is required to accelerate an object at a given rate.
 
Thanks. That clears it up.
But why don't photons have kinetic energy?
 
arunma said:
Of course, there are some particles which physicists believe do not have mass. Neutrinos are an example that comes to mind.

Nope, for the past several years it's been widely accepted that neutrinos do have a very small mass (a few eV or less). It's studied via neutrino oscillations.

The only massless particles now, so far as I know, are the photon, the gluons, and the graviton (if it exists).
 
jtbell said:
Nope, for the past several years it's been widely accepted that neutrinos do have a very small mass (a few eV or less). It's studied via neutrino oscillations.

The only massless particles now, so far as I know, are the photon, the gluons, and the graviton (if it exists).

Oops, looks like I missed the memo! Thanks.
 
But why don't photons have kinetic energy?

I wonder to know why too. I thought photons do have kinetic energy equals to their momentum times the speed of light. Is it correct? Thanks.
 

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