Inertial and Gravitational Mass

AI Thread Summary
Inertial mass is defined by an object's resistance to acceleration when a force is applied, as described by Newton's second law of motion. Gravitational mass refers to the mass that determines the strength of the gravitational attraction between two bodies. Both types of mass are equivalent, a principle supported by experiments dating back to the 17th century. The relationship between mass and force is quantified through equations involving the universal gravitational constant. Understanding these concepts is crucial for physics applications, particularly in mechanics and gravitation.
nebbione
Messages
131
Reaction score
0
Hi everyone! In an university examination it was asked to:"Explain the difference between inertial and gravitational mass" but my physics book is not very exhaustive on these differences.
Which could it be a precise answer to this question ?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass
The inertial mass of an object determines its acceleration in the presence of an applied force. According to Newton's second law of motion, if a body of fixed mass M is subjected to a force F, its acceleration α is given by F/M. A body's mass also determines the degree to which it generates or is affected by a gravitational field. If a first body of mass MA is placed at a distance R from a second body of mass MB, each body experiences an attractive force Fg = GMAMBR/|R|3, where G=6.67×10−11 N kg−2m2 is the "universal gravitational constant". This is sometimes referred to as gravitational mass.[note 1] Repeated experiments since the 17th century have demonstrated that inertial and gravitational mass are equivalent
 
Thank you very much ! You have been very exhaustive! Really thanks!
 
I have recently been really interested in the derivation of Hamiltons Principle. On my research I found that with the term ##m \cdot \frac{d}{dt} (\frac{dr}{dt} \cdot \delta r) = 0## (1) one may derivate ##\delta \int (T - V) dt = 0## (2). The derivation itself I understood quiet good, but what I don't understand is where the equation (1) came from, because in my research it was just given and not derived from anywhere. Does anybody know where (1) comes from or why from it the...
Back
Top