Inquiry About Inertia: What Causes It?

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Inertia is fundamentally linked to mass, which is an inertial property that dictates an object's resistance to changes in its state of motion. The discussion raises questions about the underlying causes of mass, suggesting that it may relate to forces, time, or gravity, but ultimately acknowledges that the true nature of mass remains uncertain. The inquiry extends to the philosophical aspect of causality, questioning why there is a need for a cause at all. This reflects a broader existential curiosity about the fundamental characteristics of the universe and the particles within it. The conversation highlights the complexity and mystery surrounding these foundational concepts in physics.
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What is the cause of Inertia?
 
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GarryS said:
What is the cause of Inertia?
What is the cause of the need for a cause?
 
I just read this two minutes ago while reseaching the "standard kilogram"... so I'll post it here for reference:

The kilogram is a unit of mass, the measurement of which corresponds to the general, everyday notion of how “heavy” something is. Physically speaking, mass is an inertial property; that is, the tendency of an object to remain at constant velocity unless acted upon by an outside force.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilogram#Stability_of_the_international_prototype_kilogram

What is the cause of mass? forces? time? gravity? nobody really knows...it's a characteristic of our universe...and without any of them we'd not be here to observe and question. We can't even figure out yet why we have the fundamental particles that we observe.
 
A.T. said:
What is the cause of the need for a cause?

Ha Ha Ha Ha...
 

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Hi there, im studying nanoscience at the university in Basel. Today I looked at the topic of intertial and non-inertial reference frames and the existence of fictitious forces. I understand that you call forces real in physics if they appear in interplay. Meaning that a force is real when there is the "actio" partner to the "reactio" partner. If this condition is not satisfied the force is not real. I also understand that if you specifically look at non-inertial reference frames you can...
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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...
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