Inertail versus gravitational mass

[johnxxx]

Hi,

Inertial mass can be understood as the resistance to change motion. Gravitational mass exerts a pull on every other object (and as a result of action-reaction force law also on itself). It has been shown by experiment that both mass concepts are the same. But it looks strange that one quantity is a resistance to motion and cause of motion at the same time.

Would it not be more logical to assume that there exists a natural motion of scattering all things and that mass is a reverse motion (a kind of friction) that resists this natural motion of scattering.

 

[Office_Shredder]

No, it wouldn't.

For one thing, your version of mass still has the same problem, that mass is both stopping the object from moving, yet causing other objects to move.

In fact, that gravitational and inertial mass is the same makes the laws of gravity really cool

 

[kyle8921]

This would explain why mass is both a resistance to change in motion and a cause of motion through gravitational pull.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the concept of mass. While your idea of a natural motion of scattering and mass being a resistance to it may seem logical, it does not align with our current understanding of mass and its properties.

In physics, mass is defined as the amount of matter in an object and is measured in kilograms. Both inertial and gravitational mass are considered equivalent and have been confirmed through numerous experiments. This means that the amount of matter in an object is also the same as the amount of matter that is affected by gravity.

To explain this further, let's consider Newton's second law of motion which states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on the object and inversely proportional to its mass. This means that the more mass an object has, the more force is needed to accelerate it. This is where inertial mass comes into play - it is the measure of how much resistance an object has to a change in its motion.

On the other hand, gravitational mass is the measure of how much an object is affected by gravity. This is evident in the equation for gravitational force, where the force is directly proportional to the product of the masses of the two objects and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

Therefore, while it may seem counterintuitive that mass can both resist and cause motion, it is a fundamental property of matter that has been consistently observed and confirmed through experiments. Your idea of a natural motion of scattering and mass being a reverse motion does not align with our current understanding and would require further evidence and experimentation to be considered a valid explanation.