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Re: Mass



At 6:45 PM -0500 10/18/04, cliff parker wrote:
Brian Whatcott wrote:

Mass is the name given to the resistance observed when
attempting to change the linear speed of some coherent object
which is otherwise perfectly free to move.

What is the name given to the resistance observed when attempting to change
the direction of a moving object which is otherwise perfectly free to move?

When push comes to shove I tell my students that mass like charge is
something that "stuff" has.

So, like energy, mass is not stuff, but a _property_ of stuff. So goes
energy, so goes mass (after all, E = mc^2).

The NIST publications say not to use the word "mass" as a replacement for
"object."
Wrong: A [2-kg] mass hangs from a spring.
Right: An object [with mass 2 kg] hangs from a spring.

Larry