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

That principle states that an object’s inertial mass, which determines how much it accelerates when force is applied, is equivalent to its gravitational mass, which determines how strong a gravitational force it feels.

From Washington Post

When thinking about the acceleration of an object due to a force exerted on it, we think about the “inertial mass” of the body.

From Scientific American

According to Einstein’s famous equation E = mc2, an object’s inertial mass measures the energy trapped inside it.

From Science Magazine

And if the mood encourages laypeople to ask why knowledge of inertia and the inertial mass of particles is important to our understanding of the universe as a whole, all the better.

From BBC

One way is to try and falsify the equivalence principle, to show that two phenomena of gravitational and inertial mass are not really identical.

From Forbes