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Re: Constraint and inertia



On Thu, 11 Nov 1999, Ludwik Kowalski wrote:

Some people say inertia instead of mass. Why do we need
another term for mass? Inertia is not a physical quantity.
Newton's first law is called the law of inertia, the law of
tendency to preserve velocity.

But after F=ma, it is easier to change the velocity of a lower
mass m. And reversly, the greater the mass the greater its "tendency
to preserve velocity". Mass gives us an idea of the inertia of a body.

BTW, how would you explain what is mass (the one of F=ma) without
refering to inertia?


Miguel A. Santos
msantos@etse.urv.es