Inertia (redirected from inertialess)

inertia (ĭnûr`shə), in physics, the resistance of a body to any alteration in its state of motion, i.e., the resistance of a body at rest to being set in motion or of a body in motion to any change of speed or change in direction of motion. Inertia is a property common to all matter. This property was first observed by Galileo and restated by Newton as his first law of motion, sometimes called the law of inertia. Newton's second law of motion states that the external force required to affect the motion of a body is proportional to that acceleration. The constant of proportionality is known as the mass, which is the numerical value of the inertia; the greater the inertia of a body, the less is its acceleration for a given applied force.

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inertia

Inherent property of a body that makes it oppose any force that would cause a change in its motion. A body at rest and a body in motion both oppose forces that might cause acceleration. The inertia of a body can be measured by its mass, which governs its resistance to the action of a force, or by its moment of inertia about a specified axis, which measures its resistance to the action of a torque about the same axis.

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inertia

Physics

a. the tendency of a body to preserve its state of rest or uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force

b. an analogous property of other physical quantities that resist change

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inertia [i′nər·shə]

(mechanics)

That property of matter which manifests itself as a resistance to any change in the momentum of a body.

(medicine)

Sluggishness, especially of muscular activity.

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Inertia

That property of matter which manifests itself as a resistance to any change in the motion of a body. Thus when no external force is acting, a body at rest remains at rest and a body in motion continues moving in a straight line with a uniform speed (Newton's first law of motion). The mass of a body is a measure of its inertia. See Mass

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Inertia 

in mechanics, a property of material bodies that is reflected in the first and second laws of mechanics. When there are no external influences (forces) acting on a body or when they are mutually balanced, inertia is manifested in the fact that the body maintains unchanged its state of motion or rest with respect to the so-called inertial frame of reference. If, however, an unbalanced system of forces acts on the body, then the property of inertia is manifested in the fact that a change in the body’s state of rest or motion, that is, a change in the velocities of its points, takes place gradually and not instantaneously. Here, the greater the inertia of the body the more slowly the motion changes. The mass of a body is the measure of its inertia.

The term “inertia” is still used with respect to various instruments; the inertia of an instrument is its property of displaying readings with a certain delay.

S. M. TARG