inertial mass

American  

noun

Physics.

1. the mass of a body as determined by the second law of motion from the acceleration of the body when it is subjected to a force that is not due to gravity.

2. the measure of the property of inertia.

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inertial mass British  

noun

1. the mass of a body as determined by its momentum, as opposed to gravitational mass. The acceleration of a falling body is inversely proportional to its inertial mass but directly proportional to its gravitational mass: as all falling bodies have the same constant acceleration the two types of mass must be equal

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Compare meaning

How does inertial-mass compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• inertial mass vs. gravitational mass

Example Sentences

This supports Big Idea 1, that inertial mass is a property of an object or a system.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

So, two objects with the same internal energy and inertial mass may have different gravitational masses, violating the equivalence principle.

From Science Magazine • Mar. 5, 2015

I just want to get the script and say, 'Here's what I said about gravitational mass and inertial mass, or about Einstein's general theory of relativity or about entropy.

From The Guardian • Mar. 24, 2011

With his laws of motion Newton introduced the notions of force and of inertial mass.

From Scientific American • Mar. 4, 2011

He wondered how much damage one could do with a nearly weightless stone, then remembered that inertial mass was unaffected by gravitational fields, or the lack of them.

From The Dueling Machine by Bova, Ben