OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF validation testing, which is repeatable

FORCE at will. For example, 100 degrees

Celsius may be crudely defined by
An operational definition is a
describing the process of heating
demonstration of a process – such as a
water until it is observed to boil. An
variable, term, or object – in terms of
item like a brick, or even a photograph
the specific process or set of validation
of a brick, may be defined in terms of
tests used to determine its presence
how it can be made. Likewise, iron
and quantity. The term was coined by
may be defined in terms of the results
Percy Williams Bridgman (see
of testing or measuring it in particular
Operationalization). Properties
ways.
described in this manner must be
sufficiently accessible, so that persons One simple, every day
other than the definer may illustration of an operational definition
independently measure or test for is defining a cake in terms of how it is
them at will.[citation needed] An operational prepared and baked (i.e., its recipe is
definition is generally designed to an operational definition). Similarly,
model a conceptual definition. The the saying, if it walks like a duck and
most operational definition is a process quacks like a duck, it must be some
for identification of an object by kind of duck, may be regarded as
distinguishing it from its background of involving a sort of measurement
empirical experience. The binary process or set of tests
version produces either the result that
ACCELERATION
the object exists, or that it doesn't, in
the experiential field to which it is "Accelerate" redirects here. For
applied. The classifier version results other uses, see Accelerate
in discrimination between what is part (disambiguation).
of the object and what is not part of it.
For the waltz composed
This is also discussed in terms of
by Johann Strauss, see
semantics, pattern recognition, and
Accelerationen.
operational techniques, such as
regression.
For example, the weight of an
object may be operationally defined in
terms of the specific steps of putting
an object on a weighing scale. The
weight is whatever results from
following the measurement procedure,
which can in principle be repeated by
anyone. It is intentionally not defined Acceleration is the rate of
in terms of some intrinsic or private change of velocity. At any point on a
essence. The operational definition of trajectory, the magnitude of the
weight is just the result of what acceleration is given by the rate of
happens when the defined procedure change of velocity in both magnitude
is followed. In other words, what's and direction at that point. The true
being defined is how to measure acceleration at time t is found in the
weight for any arbitrary object, and limit as time interval Δt → 0.
only incidentally the weight of a given
object.
Operationalize means to put
into operation. Operational definitions
are also used to define system states
in terms of a specific, publicly
accessible process of preparation or

Components of acceleration for
a planar curved motion. The tangential
component at is due to the change in
speed of traversal, and points along
the curve in the direction of the
velocity vector. The centripetal
component ac is due to the change in
direction of the velocity vector and is
normal to the trajectory, pointing
toward the center of curvature of the
path.
In physics, and more
specifically kinematics, acceleration
is the change in velocity over time.[1]
Because velocity is a vector, it can
change in two ways: a change in
magnitude and/or a change in
direction. In one dimension, i.e. a line,
acceleration is the rate at which
something speeds up or slows down.
However, as a vector quantity,
acceleration is also the rate at which
direction changes.[2][3] Acceleration has
the dimensions L T−2. In SI units,
acceleration is measured in metres per
second squared (m/s2).
In common speech, the term
acceleration commonly is used for an
increase in speed (the magnitude of
velocity); a decrease in speed is called
deceleration. In physics, a change in
the direction of velocity also is an
acceleration: for rotary motion, the
change in direction of velocity results
in centripetal (toward the center)
acceleration; where as the rate of
change of speed is a tangential
acceleration.
In classical mechanics, for a
body with constant mass, the
acceleration of the body is proportional
to the resultant (total) force acting on
it (Newton's second law):
where F is the resultant force
acting on the body, m is the mass of
the body, and a is its acceleration.
[edit] Average and
instantaneous acceleration
Average acceleration is the
change in velocity (Δv) divided by the
change in time (Δt). Instantaneous
acceleration is the acceleration at a
specific point in time.
[edit] Tangential and
centripetal acceleration
See also: Local coordinates
The velocity of a particle
moving on a curved path as a function
of time can be written as:
with v(t) equal to the speed of
travel along the path, and
a unit vector tangent to the
path pointing in the direction of motion
at the chosen moment in time. Taking
into account both the changing speed
v(t) and the changing direction of ut,
the acceleration of a particle moving
on a curved path on a planar surface
can be written using the chain rule of
differentiation as:
where un is the unit (outward)
normal vector to the particle's
trajectory, and R is its instantaneous
radius of curvature based upon the
osculating circle at time t. These
components are called the tangential
acceleration and the radial
acceleration, respectively. The
negative of the radial acceleration is
the centripetal acceleration, which
points inward, toward the center of
curvature.
Extension of this approach to
three-dimensional space curves that
cannot be contained on a planar
surface leads to the Frenet-Serret
formulas.[4][5]
[edit] Relation to relativity
After completing his theory of
special relativity, Albert Einstein
realized that forces felt by objects
undergoing constant proper
acceleration are actually feeling
themselves being accelerated, so that,
for example, a car's acceleration
forwards would result in the driver
feeling a slight push backwards. In the
case of gravity, which Einstein
concluded is not actually a force, this
is not the case; acceleration due to
gravity is not felt by an object in free-
fall. This was the basis for his
development of general relativity, a
relativistic theory of gravity.
UNITS OF MASS AND
ACCELERATION
For other uses, see Mass
(disambiguation).
In physics, mass (from Ancient
Greek: μᾶζα) commonly refers to any
of three properties of matter, which
have been shown experimentally to be
equivalent: inertial mass, active
gravitational mass and passive
gravitational mass. In everyday usage,
mass is often taken to mean weight,
but care should be taken to distinguish
between the two terms in scientific
use, as they actually refer to different
properties.
The inertial mass of an object
determines its acceleration in the
presence of an applied force.
According to Isaac Newton's second
law of motion, if a body of mass m is
subjected to a force F, its acceleration
a is given by F/m.
A body's mass also determines
the degree to which it generates or is
affected by a gravitational field. If a
first body of mass m1 is placed at a
distance r from a second body of mass
m2, the first body experiences an
attractive force F given by
where G is the universal
constant of gravitation, equal to
6.67×10−11 kg−1 m3 s−2. This is
sometimes referred to as gravitational
mass (when a distinction is necessary,
M is used to denote the active
gravitational mass and m the passive
gravitational mass). Repeated
experiments since the seventeenth
century have demonstrated that
inertial and gravitational mass are
equivalent; this is entailed in the
equivalence principle of general
relativity.
Special relativity provides a
relationship between the mass of a
body and its energy (E = mc2). As a
consequence of this relationship, the
total mass of a collection of particles
may be greater or less than the sum of
the masses of the individual particles.
On the surface of the Earth, the
weight W of an object is related to its
mass m by
where g is the acceleration due
to the Earth's gravity, equal to 9.81 m
s−2. An object's weight depends on its
environment, while its mass does not:
an object with a mass of 50 kilograms
weighs 491 newtons on the surface of
the Earth; on the surface of the Moon,
the same object still has a mass of
50 kilograms but weighs only
81.5 newtons.
An object with mass is said to
be massive.[1]
 Contents
[hide]
• 1 Units of mass
• 2 Summary of mass
concepts and formalisms
• 3 Summary of mass
related phenomena
• 4 Weight and amount
• 5 Gravitational Mass
o 5.1 Keplerian
gravitational mass
o 5.2 Galilean gravitational
field
o 5.3 Newtonian
gravitational mass
 5.3.1 Universal
gravitational mass and amount
• 6 Inertial and
gravitational mass
o 6.1 Inertial mass
o 6.2 Newtonian
Gravitational mass
o 6.3 Equivalence of
inertial and gravitational masses
• 7 Mass and energy in
relativity
• 8 Notes
• 9 References
• 10 External links

[edit] Units of mass

In the International System of
Units (SI), mass is measured in
kilograms (kg). The gram (g) is 1⁄1000 of
a kilogram.
Other units are accepted for
use in SI
 : body of mass m to the body's
acceleration a:
• The tonne (t) is equal to
1000 kg.
• The electronvolt (eV) is Additionally, mass relates a
primarily a unit of energy, but because body's momentum p to its velocity v:
of the mass-energy equivalence it can
also function as a unit of mass. In this
context it is denoted eV/c2, or simply and the body's kinetic energy
as eV. The electronvolt is common in Ek to its velocity:
particle physics.
• The atomic mass unit (u)
is defined so that a single carbon-12 In special relativity, relativistic
atom has a mass of 12 u; 1 u is mass is a formalism which accounts for
approximately 1.66×10−27 kg.[note 1] The relativistic effects by having the mass
atomic mass unit is convenient for increase with velocity.
expressing the masses of atoms and
molecules.
Outside the SI system, a variety
of different mass units are used, Since energy is dependent on
depending on context, such as the slug reference frame (upon the observer) it
(sl), the pound (lb), the Planck mass is convenient to formulate the
(mP), and the solar mass (M⊙). equations of physics in a way such that
mass values are invariant (do not
In normal situations, the weight change) between observers, and so
of an object is proportional to its mass, the equations are independent of the
which usually makes it unproblematic observer. For a single particle, this
to use the same unit for both concepts. quantity is the rest mass; for a system
However, the distinction between of bound or unbound particles, this
mass and weight becomes important quantity is the invariant mass. The
for measurements with a precision invariant mass m of a body is related
better than a few percent (because of to its energy E and the magnitude of
slight differences in the strength of the its momentum p by
Earth's gravitational field at different
places), and for places far from the
surface of the Earth, such as in space
or on other planets. where c is the speed of
A mass can sometimes be light.
expressed in terms of length. The [edit] Summary of mass
mass of a very small particle may be related phenomena
identified with its inverse Compton
wavelength (1 cm−1 ≈ 3.52×10−41 kg).
The mass of a very large star or black
hole may be identified with its
Schwarzschild radius (1 cm ≈
6.73×1024 kg).
[edit] Summary of mass
concepts and formalisms
In classical mechanics, mass
has a central role in determining the
behavior of bodies. Newton's second
law relates the force F exerted in a
 The above diagram illustrates
five interrelated properties of mass
together with the proportionality
constants that relate these properties.
Every sample of mass is believed to
exhibit all five properties, however,
due to extremely large proportionality
constants, it is generally impossible to
verify more than two or three
properties for a specific sample of
mass.
• The Schwarzschild
radius (rs) represents the ability of
mass to cause curvature in space and
time.
• The standard
gravitational parameter (μ) represents
the ability of a massive body to exert
Newtonian gravitational forces on
other bodies.
• Inertial mass (m)
represents the Newtonian response of
mass to forces.
• Rest energy (E0)
represents the ability of mass to be
converted into other forms of energy.
• The Compton
wavelength (λ) represents the
quantum response of mass to local
geometry.
In physical science, one may
distinguish conceptually between at
least seven attributes of mass, or
seven physical phenomena that can be
explained using the concept of mass:[2]
• Inertial mass is a
measure of an object's resistance to
changing its state of motion when a
force is applied. It is determined by
applying a force to an object and
measuring the acceleration that results
from that force. An object with small
inertial mass will accelerate more than
an object with large inertial mass when
acted upon by the same force. One
says the body of greater mass has
greater inertia.
• The amount of matter
in certain types of samples can be
exactly determined through
electrodeposition or other precise
processes. The mass of an exact
sample is determined in part by the
number and type of atoms or
molecules it contains, and in part by
the energy involved in binding it
together (which contributes a negative
"missing mass," or mass deficit).
• Active gravitational
mass is a measure of the strength of
an object’s gravitational flux
(gravitational flux is equal to the
surface integral of gravitational field
over an enclosing surface).
Gravitational field can be measured by
allowing a small ‘test object’ to freely
fall and measuring its free-fall
acceleration. For example, an object in
free-fall near the Moon will experience
less gravitational field, and hence
accelerate slower than the same
object would if it were in free-fall near
the earth. The gravitational field near
the Moon is weaker because the Moon
has less active gravitational mass.
• Passive gravitational
mass is a measure of the strength of
an object's interaction with a
gravitational field. Passive
gravitational mass is determined by
dividing an object’s weight by its free-
fall acceleration. Two objects within
the same gravitational field will
experience the same acceleration;
however, the object with a smaller
passive gravitational mass will
experience a smaller force (less
weight) than the object with a larger
passive gravitational mass.
• Energy also has mass
according to the principle of mass–
energy equivalence. This equivalence
is exemplified in a large number of
physical processes including pair
production, nuclear fusion, and the
gravitational bending of light. Pair
production and nuclear fusion are
processes through which measurable
amounts of mass and energy are
converted into each other. In the
gravitational bending of light, photons
of pure energy are shown to exhibit a
behavior similar to passive
gravitational mass.
• Curvature of spacetime
is a relativistic manifestation of the
existence of mass. Curvature is
extremely weak and difficult to
measure. For this reason, curvature
wasn’t discovered until after it was
predicted by Einstein’s theory of
general relativity. Extremely precise
atomic clocks on the surface of the
earth, for example, are found to
measure less time (run slower) than
similar clocks in space. This difference
in elapsed time is a form of curvature
called gravitational time dilation. Other
forms of curvature have been
measured using the Gravity Probe B
satellite.
• Quantum mass
manifests itself as a difference
between an object’s quantum
frequency and its wave number. The
quantum mass of an electron, the
Compton wavelength, can be
determined through various forms of
spectroscopy and is closely related to
the Rydberg constant, the Bohr radius,
and the classical electron radius. The
quantum mass of larger objects can be
directly measured using a watt
balance. (Note: Quantum mass can be
represented in many different
mathematical formalisms. The
Schrödinger equation is a classical
formalism in which kinetic energy is
equal to the classical momentum
squared divided by the classical mass.
The Klein–Gordon equation is a
relativistic formalism in which the
invariant mass is equal to the
difference of the energy squared and
the momentum squared.)
Inertial mass, passive and
active gravitational mass, and the
various other mass-related phenomena
are conceptually distinct. However,
every experiment to date has shown
these values to be proportional, and
this proportionality gives rise to the
abstract concept of mass. If, in some
future experiment, one of the mass-
related phenomena is shown to not be
proportional to the others, then that
specific phenomena will no longer be
considered a part of the abstract
concept of mass.
[edit] Weight and amount
Main article: weight
Anubis weighing the heart of
Hunefer, 1285 BC
The concepts of passive
gravitational mass and atomic mass
grew out of the much older concepts of
weight and amount. Weight, by
definition, is a measure of the force
that must be applied to support an
object (i.e. hold it at rest) in a
gravitational field. Gravitational fields
typically change only slightly over
short distances, and the gravitational
field of the earth is nearly uniform at
all locations on the earth’s surface;
therefore, an object’s weight changes
only slightly when it is moved from one
location to another, and these changes
went unnoticed through much of
history. This may have given early
humans the impression that weight
was unchanging, and a fundamental
property of all objects.
In the Egyptian religious
illustration to the right, Anubis is using
a balance scale to weigh the heart of
Hunefer. A balance scale balances the
force of one object’s weight against
the force of another object’s weight.
When two objects are near each other
they experience almost identical
gravitational fields. Hence, if they have
similar masses then their weights will
also be similar. The two sides of a
balance scale are close enough that
the scale, by comparing weights, also
compares masses. The balance scale science: when values are related
measures mass and is one of the through simple fractions, there is a
oldest known devices used for this good possibility that the values stem
purpose. from a common source.
The concept of amount is very
old and predates recorded history, so
any description of the early
development of this concept is
speculative in nature. However, one
might reasonably assume that
humans, at some early era, realized
that the weight of a collection of
similar objects was directly
proportional to the number of objects
in the collection:
,
where w is the weight of the
collection of similar objects and n is
the number of objects in the collection.
Proportionality, by definition, implies
that two values have a constant ratio:

, or Various atoms and molecules

as depicted in John Dalton's A New
equivalently . System of Chemical Philosophy (1808).

Consequently, historical weight The name atom comes from the

standards were often defined in terms
of amounts. The Romans, for example,
used the carob seed (carat or siliqua)
as a measurement standard. If an
object’s weight was found to be
equivalent to 1728 carob seeds, then
the object was said to weigh one
Roman pound. If, on the other hand,
the object’s weight was found to be
equivalent to 144 carob seeds then the
object was said to weigh one Roman
ounce (uncia). The Roman pound and
ounce were both defined in terms of
different sized collections of the same
common mass standard, the carob
seed. The ratio of a Roman ounce (144
carob seeds) to a Roman pound (1728
carob seeds) was:
.
This example illustrates a
fundamental principle of physical
Greek ἄτομος/átomos, α-τεμνω, which
means uncuttable, something that
cannot be divided further. The
philosophical concept that matter
might be composed of discrete units
that cannot be further divided has
been around for millennia. However,
empirical proof and the universally
acceptance of the existence of atoms
didn’t occur until the early 1900’s.
Sodium and chlorine atoms in
table salt (image obtained with an
Atomic force microscope)
As the science of chemistry
matured, experimental evidence for
the existence of atoms came from the
law of multiple proportions. When two
or more elements combined to form a
compound, their masses are always in
a fixed and definite ratio. For example,
the mass ratio of nitrogen to oxygen in
nitric oxide is seven eights. Ammonia
has a hydrogen to nitrogen mass ratio
of three fourteenths. The fact that
elemental masses combined in simple
fractions implies that all elemental
mass stems from a common source. In
principle, the atomic mass situation is
analogous to the above example of
Roman mass units. The Roman pound
and ounce were both defined in terms
of different sized collections of carob
seeds, and consequently, the two
mass units were related to each other
through a simple fraction.
Comparatively, since all of the atomic
masses are related to each other
through simple fractions, then perhaps
the atomic masses are just different
sized collections of some common
fundamental mass unit.
In 1805, the chemist John
Dalton published his first table of
relative atomic weights, listing six
elements, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen,
carbon, sulfur, and phosphorus, and
assigning hydrogen an atomic weight
of 1. And in 1815, the chemist William
Prout concluded that the hydrogen
atom was in fact the fundamental
mass unit from which all other atomic
masses were derived.
Carbon atoms in graphite
(image obtained with a Scanning
tunneling microscope)
If Prout's hypothesis had proven
accurate, then the abstract concept of
mass, as we now know it, might have
never evolved, since mass could
always be defined in terms of amounts
of the hydrogen atomic mass. Prout’s
hypothesis; however, was found to be
inaccurate in two major respects. First,
further scientific advancements
revealed the existence of smaller
particles, such as electrons and
quarks, whose masses are not related
through simple fractions. And second,
the elemental masses themselves
were found to not be exact multiples of
the hydrogen atom mass, but rather,
they were near multiples. Einstein’s
theory of relativity explained that
when protons and neutrons come
together to form an atomic nucleus,
some of the mass of the nucleus is
released in the form of binding energy.
The more tightly bound the nucleus,
the more energy is lost during
formation and this binding energy loss
causes the elemental masses to not be
related through simple fractions.
Hydrogen, for example, with a
single proton, has an atomic weight of
1.007825 u. The most abundant
isotope of iron has 26 protons and 30
neutrons, so one might expect its
atomic weight to be 56 times that of
the hydrogen atom, but in fact, its
atomic weight is only 55.9383 u, which
is clearly not an integer multiple of
1.007825. Prout’s hypothesis was
proven inaccurate in many respects,
but the abstract concepts of atomic
mass and amount continue to play an
influential role, and the atomic mass
unit continues to be the unit of choice
for very small mass measurements.
(Although, the definition of the atomic
mass unit is no longer tied to the
hydrogen atom).
When the French invented the
metric system in the late 1700s, they
used an amount to define their mass
unit. The gram was originally defined
to be equal in mass to the amount of
pure water contained in a one milliliter
container. This definition, however,
was inadequate for the precision
requirements of modern technology,
and the metric kilogram was redefined
in terms of a manmade physical
object.
[edit] Gravitational Mass
Active Gravitational mass is
a property of the mass of an object
that produces a gravitational field in
the space surrounding the object, and
these gravitational fields govern large-
scale structures in the Universe. year
Gravitational fields hold the galaxies
together. They cause clouds of gas and
dust to coalesce into stars and planets. 1
They provide the necessary pressure 1.000
for nuclear fusion to occur within stars. E
.000 000
And they determine the orbits of arth
000 AU sidereal
various objects within the Solar year
System. Since gravitational effects are
all around us, it is impossible to pin
1
down the exact date when humans
1.880
first discovered gravitational mass. M
.523 816
However, it is possible to identify some ars
662 AU sidereal
of the significant steps towards our
year
modern understanding of gravitational
mass and its relationship to the other
mass phenomena. 1
51.861
[edit] Keplerian J
.203 776
gravitational mass upiter
363 AU sidereal
Main article: Kepler's laws of year
planetary motion
2
99.456
S
.537 626
aturn
070 AU sidereal
year

Johannes Kepler was the first to

give an accurate description of the
orbits of the planets, and by doing so;
he was the first to describe
gravitational mass. In 1600 AD, Kepler
Johannes Kepler 1610. sought employment with Tycho Brahe
and consequently gained access to
The Keplerian astronomical data of a higher precision
Planets than any previously available. Using
E Brahe’s precise observations of the
nglish S S planet Mars, Kepler proved that the
Name emi- idereal Mas traditional astronomical methods were
major orbital s of Sun inaccurate in their predictions, and he
axis period spent the next five years developing
his own method for characterizing
planetary motion.
0
0.240 In Kepler’s final planetary
M model, he successfully described
.387 842
ercury planetary orbits as following elliptical
099 AU sidereal
year paths with the Sun at a focal point of
the ellipse. Kepler discovered that the
square of the orbital period of a planet
V 0 0
enus .723 .615 is directly proportional to the cube of
the semi-major axis of its orbit; this is
332 AU 187
sidereal his third law of planetary motion. The
concept of active gravitational mass is explaining how the planets follow
an immediate consequence of this law, elliptical orbits under the influence of
since the square of the orbital period is the Sun. On August 25 of that same
proportional to the cube of the semi- year, Galileo Galilei demonstrated his
major axis, then the ratio of these two first telescope to a group of Venetian
values must be constant for all planets merchants, and in early January of
in the Solar System. This constant ratio 1610, Galileo observed four dim
is a direct measure of the Sun's active objects near Jupiter, which he mistook
gravitational mass, it has units of for stars. However, after a few days of
distance cubed per time squared, and observation, Galileo realized that these
is known as the standard gravitational objects were in fact orbiting Jupiter.
parameter: These four objects (later named the
Galilean moons in honor of their
discoverer) were the first celestial
objects observed to orbit something
other than the Earth or Sun. Galileo
continued to observe these moons
The Galilean moons
over the next eighteen months, and by
the middle of 1611 he had obtained
E S remarkably accurate estimates for
nglish Siderea their periods. Later, the semi-major
Name emi- l Mass axis of each moon was also estimated,
majo orbita of Jupiter thus allowing the gravitational mass of
r axis l Jupiter to be determined from the
period orbits of its moons. The gravitational
mass of Jupiter was found to be
0 approximately a thousandth of the
0
.004 gravitational mass of the Sun.
I .002
843
o 819 [edit] Galilean gravitational
siderea
AU field
l year

0
0
.009
E .004
722
uropa 486
siderea
AU
l year

0
0
G .019
.007
anyme 589 Galileo Galilei 1636.
155
de siderea
AU
l year

0
0
.045
C .012
694
allisto 585
siderea
AU
l year

Main article: Galilean moons

In 1609, Johannes Kepler
published his three rules known as
Kepler's laws of planetary motion,

The distance traveled by a
freely falling ball is proportional to the
square of the elapsed time.
Galileo’s use of scientific
instrumentation went beyond
astronomical observations and the
telescope. Sometime prior to 1638,
Galileo had turned his attention to the
phenomenon of objects falling under
the influence of Earth’s gravity, and he
was actively attempting to
characterize these motions. Galileo
was not the first to investigate Earth’s
gravitational field, nor was he the first
to accurately describe its fundamental
characteristics. However, Galileo’s
reliance on scientific experimentation
to establish physical principles would
have a profound effect on future
generations of scientists. Galileo used
a number of scientific experiments to
characterize free fall motion. It is
unclear if these were just hypothetical
experiments used to illustrate a
concept, or if they were real
experiments performed by Galileo [3],
but the results obtained from these
experiments were both realistic and
compelling. A biography by Galileo's
pupil Vincenzo Viviani stated that
Galileo had dropped balls of the same
material, but different masses, from
the Leaning Tower of Pisa to
demonstrate that their time of descent
was independent of their mass.[4] In
support of this conclusion, Galileo had
advanced the following theoretical
argument: He asked if two bodies of
different masses and different rates of
fall are tied by a string, does the
combined system fall faster because it
is now more massive, or does the
lighter body in its slower fall hold back
the heavier body? The only convincing
resolution to this question is that all
bodies must fall at the same rate.[5]
A later experiment was
described in Galileo’s Two New
Sciences published in 1638. One of
Galileo’s fictional characters, Salviati,
describes an experiment using a
bronze ball and a wooden ramp. The
wooden ramp was "12 cubits long, half
a cubit wide and three finger-breadths
thick" with a straight, smooth, polished
groove. The groove was lined with
"parchment, also smooth and polished
as possible". And into this groove was
placed "a hard, smooth and very round
bronze ball". The ramp was inclined at
various angles to slow the acceleration
enough so that the elapsed time could
be measured. The ball was allowed to
roll a known distance down the ramp,
and the time taken for the ball to move
the known distance was measured.
The time was measured using a water
clock described as follows:
"a large vessel of water
placed in an elevated position;
to the bottom of this vessel was
soldered a pipe of small
diameter giving a thin jet of
water, which we collected in a
small glass during the time of
each descent, whether for the
whole length of the channel or
for a part of its length; the
water thus collected was
weighed, after each descent, on
a very accurate balance; the
differences and ratios of these
weights gave us the differences
and ratios of the times, and this
with such accuracy that
although the operation was
repeated many, many times,
there was no appreciable
discrepancy in the results.".[6]
This dialogue provides
compelling and realistic solutions to
the problems that had plagued earlier
measurements. Previous
experimenters were unable to Gravity Radius
measure the short time periods
involved in free fall motion. Aristotle, a 0.0
Greek philosopher, appears to have 6
0980665
performed experiments with objects km 375 km
⁄sec2
falling in water, but the frictional
forces of the water had confused his
Galileo Galilei died in Arcetri,
experimental results. Galileo, on the
Italy (near Florence), on 8 January
other hand, by using a nearly
1642. Isaac Newton was born almost a
frictionless inclined plane, was able to
year later on 4 January 1643, in
slow the acceleration without
Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth, England.
introducing additional frictional forces,
Prior to Newton’s birth, Johannes
and thus he was able to measure the
Kepler had shown that the planets
fall times with his ingenious “water
follow elliptical paths under the
clock”. Galileo found that the distance
influence of the Sun’s gravitational
traveled by an object in free fall is
mass, and Galileo had shown that
always proportional to the square of
objects in free fall under the influence
the elapsed time:
of the Earth’s gravitational field have a
constant acceleration. However, the
relationship between Kepler’s
gravitational mass and Galileo’s
[edit] Newtonian gravitational field hadn’t been fully
gravitational mass comprehended.
In 1600 AD, Johannes Kepler
had speculated that forces from Earth
might govern the Moon’s motion. He
composed an essay in which he wrote:
"In Terra inest virtus, quae Lunam ciet"
("There is a force in the Earth which
causes the Moon to move").[7] Robert
Hooke, a contemporary of Isaac
Newton, published his own ideas about
gravitational forces in 1674 AD, stating
that: “all Coelestial Bodies whatsoever,
Isaac Newton 1689. have an attraction or gravitating power
towards their own Centers" [and] "they
Earth's do also attract all the other Coelestial
Moon Bodies that are within the sphere of
their activity”. Hooke further states
Mass of
S Earth that a celestial body’s gravitational
Se attraction increases “by how much the
idereal
mi-major nearer the body wrought upon is to
orbital
axis their own center.”[1] In a
period
correspondence of 1679-1680 between
0 Robert Hooke and Isaac Newton,
.074 Hooke describes his concept of
0.0 gravitation and conjectures that the
802
02 569 AU strength of the gravitational force
sidereal
year might decrease according to the
square of the distance between the
two bodies.[8] Hooke urged Newton,
Ea E = who was a pioneer in the development
rth's arth's of calculus, to work through the
mathematical details of Keplerian
orbits to determine if Hooke’s inverse
square hypothesis was correct.
Newton’s own investigations of gravity
verified that Hooke was correct, but
due to personal differences between
the two men, Newton chose not to
reveal this to Hooke. Isaac Newton had
bridged the gap between Kepler’s
gravitational mass and Galileo’s
gravitational acceleration, and proved
the following relationship:
, Philosophy"). The first was received by
where:
• g is the apparent
acceleration of a body as it passes
through a region of space where
gravitational fields exist,
• μ is the gravitational
mass (standard gravitational
parameter) of the body causing
gravitational fields,
• r is the radial coordinate
(the distance between the centers of
the two bodies).
By finding the exact
relationship between a body's
gravitational mass and its gravitational
field, Newton provided a second
method for measuring gravitational
mass. The mass of the Earth can be
determined using Kepler’s method
(from the orbit of Earth’s Moon), or it
can be determined by measuring the
gravitational acceleration on the
Earth’s surface, and multiplying that
by the square of the Earth’s radius.
The mass of the Earth is approximately
three millionths of the mass of the
Sun. To date, no other accurate
method for measuring gravitational
mass has been discovered. [2]
Isaac Newton kept quiet about
his discoveries until 1684, at which
time he revealed to a friend, Edmond
Halley, that he had solved the problem
of gravitational orbits, but had
misplaced the solution in his office [3].
After being encouraged by Halley,
Newton decided to develop his ideas
about gravity and publish all of his
findings. In November of 1684, Isaac
Newton sent a document to Edmund
Halley, now lost but presumed to have
been titled De motu corporum in
gyrum (Latin: "On the motion of bodies
in an orbit")[4]. Halley presented
Newton’s findings to the Royal Society
of London, with a promise that a fuller
presentation would follow. Newton
eventually presented his ideas in a
three book set, entitled Philosophiæ
Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Latin:
"Mathematical Principles of Natural
the Royal Society on 28 April, 1685-6,
the second on 2 March 1686-7, and the
third on 6 April 1686-7. The Royal
Society resolved to publish Newton’s
books at their own expense, and
published the entire collection in May
of 1686-7 [5].
Main article: Newton's
cannonball
Newton's cannonball was a
thought experiment used to bridge the
gap between Galileo’s gravitational
acceleration and Kepler’s elliptical
orbits. It appeared in Newton's 1728
book A Treatise of the System of the
World. According to Galileo’s
gravitational fields, a dropped object
falls with constant acceleration down
towards the Earth. However, Newton
explains that when a stone is thrown
horizontally (meaning sideways or
perpendicular to Earth’s gravity) it
follows a curved path. “For a stone
projected is by the pressure of its own
weight forced out of the rectilinear
path, which by the projection alone it
should have pursued, and made to
describe a curve line in the air; and
through that crooked way is at last
brought down to the ground. And the
greater the velocity is with which it is
projected, the farther it goes before it
falls to the Earth.” [6]
Newton further reasons that if An apple experiences
an object were “projected in an gravitational fields directed towards
horizontal direction from the top of an every part of the Earth; however, the
high mountain” with sufficient velocity, sum total of these many fields
“it would reach at last quite beyond produces a single powerful
the circumference of the Earth, and gravitational field directed towards the
return to the mountain from which it Earth’s center.
was projected.” Newton’s thought
To answer these questions,
experiment is illustrated in the image
Newton introduced an entirely new
to the right. A cannon on top of a very
concept that gravitational mass is
high mountain shoots a cannon ball in
“universal”: meaning that every object
a horizontal direction. If the speed is
has gravitational mass, and therefore,
low, it simply falls back on Earth (paths
every object generates a gravitational
A and B). However, if the speed is
field. Newton further assumed that the
equal to or higher than some threshold
strength of each object’s gravitational
(orbital velocity), but not high enough
field would decrease according to the
to leave Earth altogether (escape
square of the distance to that object.
velocity), it will continue revolving
With these assumptions in mind,
around Earth along an elliptical orbit (C
Newton calculated what the overall
and D).
gravitational field would be if a large
[edit] Universal collection of small objects were formed
gravitational mass and amount into a giant spherical body. Newton
found that a giant spherical body (like
Newton's cannonball illustrated
the Earth or Sun), composed of
the relationship between the Earth’s
“concentric spherical” surfaces (the
gravitational mass and its gravitational
density at a given radius being roughly
field; however, a number of other
uniform), would have a gravitational
ambiguities still remained. Robert
field which was proportional to the
Hooke had asserted in 1674 that: "all
total mass of the body [7], and
Coelestial Bodies whatsoever, have an
inversely proportional to the square of
attraction or gravitating power towards
the distance to the body’s center [8].
their own Centers", but Hooke had
neither explained why this gravitating Newton's concept of universal
attraction was unique to celestial gravitational mass is illustrated in the
bodies, nor had he explained why the image to the left. Every piece of the
attraction was directed towards the Earth has gravitational mass and every
center of a celestial body. piece creates a gravitational field
directed towards that piece. However,
the overall effect of these many fields
is equivalent to a single powerful field
directed towards the center of the
Earth. The apple behaves as if a single
powerful gravitational field were
accelerating the apple towards the
Earth’s center.
Newton’s concept of universal
gravitational mass puts gravitational
mass on an equal footing with weight.
Humans, since ancient times, have
known that the weight of a collection
of similar objects is proportional to the
number of objects in the collection;
and consequently, weights are
recorded in terms of amounts. For
example, the weight of a horse might
be 1200 lbs. Meaning that if the horse
were placed on one side of a balance
scale and a collection of 1 lb weights
were placed on the other side, then it
would take 1200 weights to balance
the horse. Newton’s concept of
universal gravitational mass suggests
that the gravitational mass of a
collection of similar objects is also
proportional to the number of objects
in the collection:
, (the weak version of the equivalence
where:
• μn is the gravitational
mass of a collection of similar objects
and,
• n is the number of
objects in the collection.
Gravitational mass and weight
are proportional. Consequently,
gravitational mass and weight can be
defined in terms of amounts of a
common standard. For example, if one
were to measure the standard
gravitational parameter of a 1200 lb
horse and found it to be 36 millimeters
cubed per second squared, then one
could quickly deduce that the standard
gravitational parameter of a 600 lb pig
would be 18 millimeters cubed per
second squared, and the standard
gravitational parameter of a 100 lb
child would be 3 millimeters cubed per
second squared. Measuring the
standard gravitational parameter and
weight of one object allows one to
estimate the standard gravitational
parameter of every other object whose
weight is known.
[edit] Inertial and
gravitational mass
Although inertial mass, passive
gravitational mass and active
gravitational mass are conceptually
distinct, no experiment has ever
unambiguously demonstrated any
difference between them. In classical
mechanics, Newton's third law implies
that active and passive gravitational
mass must always be identical (or at
least proportional), but the classical
theory offers no compelling reason
why the gravitational mass has to
equal the inertial mass. That it does is
merely an empirical fact.
Albert Einstein developed his
general theory of relativity starting
from the assumption that this
correspondence between inertial and
(passive) gravitational mass is not
accidental: that no experiment will
ever detect a difference between them
principle). However, in the resulting
theory gravitation is not a force and
thus not subject to Newton's third law,
so "the equality of inertial and active
gravitational mass [...] remains as
puzzling as ever".[9]
[edit] Inertial mass
This section uses
mathematical equations
involving differential calculus.
Inertial mass is the mass of
an object measured by its resistance
to acceleration.
To understand what the inertial
mass of a body is, one begins with
classical mechanics and Newton's
Laws of Motion. Later on, we will see
how our classical definition of mass
must be altered if we take into
consideration the theory of special
relativity, which is more accurate than
classical mechanics. However, the
implications of special relativity will
not change the meaning of "mass" in
any essential way.
According to Newton's second
law, we say that a body has a mass m
if, at any instant of time, it obeys the
equation of motion
where F is the force acting on
the body and a is the acceleration of
the body.[note 2] For the moment, we will
put aside the question of what "force
acting on the body" actually means.
This equation illustrates how
mass relates to the inertia of a body.
Consider two objects with different
masses. If we apply an identical force
to each, the object with a bigger mass
will experience a smaller acceleration,
and the object with a smaller mass will
experience a bigger acceleration. We
might say that the larger mass exerts
a greater "resistance" to changing its
state of motion in response to the
force.
However, this notion of
applying "identical" forces to different
objects brings us back to the fact that
we have not really defined what a
force is. We can sidestep this difficulty
with the help of Newton's third law,
which states that if one object exerts a
force on a second object, it will
experience an equal and opposite
force. To be precise, suppose we have
two objects A and B, with constant
inertial masses mA and mB. We isolate
the two objects from all other physical
influences, so that the only forces
present are the force exerted on A by
B, which we denote FAB, and the force
exerted on B by A, which we denote
FBA. Newton's second law states that
where aA and aB are the
accelerations of A and B, respectively.
Suppose that these accelerations are
non-zero, so that the forces between
the two objects are non-zero. This
occurs, for example, if the two objects
are in the process of colliding with one
another. Newton's third law then
states that
and thus
Note that our requirement that
aA be non-zero ensures that the
fraction is well-defined.
This is, in principle, how we
would measure the inertial mass of an
object. We choose a "reference" object
and define its mass mB as (say) 1
kilogram. Then we can measure the
mass of any other object in the
universe by colliding it with the
reference object and measuring the
accelerations.
[edit] Newtonian
Gravitational mass
The Newtonian concept of
gravitational mass rests on Newton's
law of gravitation. Let us suppose we
have two objects A and B, separated
by a distance rAB. The law of
gravitation states that if A and B have
gravitational masses MA and MB
respectively, then each object exerts a
gravitational force on the other, of
magnitude
where G is the universal
gravitational constant. The above
statement may be reformulated in the
following way: if g is the acceleration
of a reference mass at a given location
in a gravitational field, then the
gravitational force on an object with
gravitational mass M is
This is the basis by which
masses are determined by weighing. In
simple spring scales, for example, the
force F is proportional to the
displacement of the spring beneath
the weighing pan, as per Hooke's law,
and the scales are calibrated to take g
into account, allowing the mass M to
be read off. A balance measures
gravitational mass; only the spring
scale measures weight.
 [edit] Equivalence of inertial
and gravitational masses
The equivalence of inertial and
gravitational masses is sometimes
referred to as the Galilean
equivalence principle or weak
equivalence principle. The most
important consequence of this
equivalence principle applies to freely
falling objects. Suppose we have an
object with inertial and gravitational
masses m and M respectively. If the
only force acting on the object comes
from a gravitational field g, combining
Newton's second law and the
gravitational law yields the
acceleration
This says that the ratio of
gravitational to inertial mass of any
object is equal to some constant K if
and only if all objects fall at the same
rate in a given gravitational field. This
phenomenon is referred to as the
'universality of free-fall'. (In addition,
the constant K can be taken to be 1 by
defining our units appropriately.)
The first experiments
demonstrating the universality of free-
fall were conducted by Galileo. It is
commonly stated that Galileo obtained
his results by dropping objects from
the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but this is
most likely apocryphal; actually, he
performed his experiments with balls
rolling down inclined planes.
Increasingly precise experiments have
been performed, such as those
performed by Loránd Eötvös, using the
torsion balance pendulum, in 1889. As
of 2008, no deviation from
universality, and thus from Galilean
equivalence, has ever been found, at
least to the accuracy 10−12. More
precise experimental efforts are still
being carried out.
The universality of free-fall only
applies to systems in which gravity is
the only acting force. All other forces,
especially friction and air resistance,
must be absent or at least negligible.
For example, if a hammer and a
feather are dropped from the same
height through the air on Earth, the
feather will take much longer to reach
the ground; the feather is not really in
free-fall because the force of air
resistance upwards against the feather
is comparable to the downward force
of gravity. On the other hand, if the
experiment is performed in a vacuum,
in which there is no air resistance, the
hammer and the feather should hit the
ground at exactly the same time
(assuming the acceleration of both
objects towards each other, and of the
ground towards both objects, for its
own part, is negligible). This can easily
be done in a high school laboratory by
dropping the objects in transparent
tubes that have the air removed with a
vacuum pump. It is even more
dramatic when done in an environment
that naturally has a vacuum, as David
Scott did on the surface of the Moon
during Apollo 15.
A stronger version of the
equivalence principle, known as the
Einstein equivalence principle or the
strong equivalence principle, lies at
the heart of the general theory of
relativity. Einstein's equivalence
principle states that within sufficiently
small regions of space-time, it is
impossible to distinguish between a
uniform acceleration and a uniform
gravitational field. Thus, the theory
postulates that the force acting on a
massive object caused by a
gravitational field is a result of the
object's tendency to move in a straght
line (in other words its inertia) and
should therefore be a function of its
inertial mass and the strength of the
gravitational field.
[edit] Mass and energy in
relativity
Main article: Mass in special
relativity
The term mass in special
relativity usually refers to the rest
mass of the object, which is the
Newtonian mass as measured by an
observer moving along with the object.
The invariant mass is another name familiar example is the binding energy
for the rest mass of single particles. of atomic nuclei, which appears as
However, the more general invariant other types of energy (such as gamma
mass (calculated with a more rays) when the nuclei are formed, and
complicated formula) may also be (after being given off) results in
applied to systems of particles in nuclides which have less mass than
relative motion, and because of this, is the free particles (nucleons) of which
usually reserved for systems which they are composed.
consist of widely separated high-
The term relativistic mass is
energy particles. The invariant mass of
also used, and this is the total quantity
systems is the same for all observers
of energy in a body or system (divided
and inertial frames, and cannot be
by c2). The relativistic mass (of a body
destroyed, and is thus conserved, so
or system of bodies) includes a
long as the system is closed. In this
contribution from the kinetic energy of
case, "closure" implies that an
the body, and is larger the faster the
idealized boundary is drawn around
body moves, so unlike the invariant
the system, and no mass/energy is
mass, the relativistic mass depends
allowed across it.
on the observer's frame of reference.
In as much as energy is However, for given single frames of
conserved in closed systems in reference and for closed systems, the
relativity, the relativistic definition(s) relativistic mass is also a conserved
of mass are quantities which are quantity.
conserved: this means they do not
Because the relativistic mass is
change over time, even as some types
proportional to the energy, it has
of particles are converted to others.
gradually fallen into disuse among
The incorrect popular idea that mass
physicists.[10] There is disagreement
may be converted to (massless)
over whether the concept remains
energy in relativity is due to the fact
pedagogically useful.[11][12]
that some matter particles may in
some cases be converted to types of For a discussion of mass in
energy which are not matter (such as general relativity, see mass in general
light, kinetic energy, and the potential relativity.
energy in magnetic, electric, and other
[edit] Notes
fields). However, even if not "matter"
all these types of energy still continue 1. ^ Since the Avogadro
to exibit mass in relativity when they constant NA is defined as the number
a created from matter—whether they of atoms in 12 g of carbon-12, it
are considered "matter" or not. follows that 1 u is exactly 1/(103 NA) kg.
Whether these types of "pure" energy
are created from matter, or matter is 2. ^ Newton's second law
created from them, system mass does is valid only for bodies of constant
not change in the process. Matter mass.
particles may not be conserved in
reactions in relativity, but closed-
system mass always is[citation needed].
In bound systems, the binding
energy must (often) be subtracted
from the mass of the unbound system,
simply because this energy has mass,
and this mass is subtracted from the
system when it is given off, at the time
it is bound. Mass is not conserved in
this process because the system is not
closed during the binding process. A