Acceleration

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Accelerate" redirects here. For other uses, see Accelerate (disambiguation).

Classical mechanics

Newton's Second Law

History of classical mechanics Timeline of classical mechanics

Branches[show]

Formulations[show]

Fundamental concepts[hide] Space Time Velocity Speed Mass Acceleration Gravity Force Impulse Torque / Moment / Couple Momentum Angular momentum Inertia Moment of inertia Reference frame Energy Kinetic energy Potential energy Mechanical work Virtual work D'Alembert's principle

Core topics[show]

Scientists[show]

vde

In physics, acceleration is the rate of change of velocity with time.[1] In one dimension, acceleration is the rate at which something speeds up or slows down. However, since velocity is a vector, acceleration describes the rate of change of both the magnitude and the direction of velocity.[2]
[3]

Acceleration has the dimensions L T 2. In SI units, acceleration is measured in meters per second

squared (m/s2). (Negative acceleration i.e. retardation, also has the same dimensions/units.) Proper acceleration, the acceleration of a body relative to a free-fall condition, is measured by an instrument called an accelerometer. In common speech, the term acceleration 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; whereas 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 net 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.

Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity. At any point on a trajectory, the magnitude of the acceleration is given by the rate of change of velocity in both magnitude and direction at that point. The true acceleration at time t is found in the limit as time interval t 0.

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.

Average acceleration is the change in velocity (v) divided by the change in time (t). Instantaneous acceleration is the acceleration at a specific point in time which is for a very short interval of time as t approaches zero.
Contents
[hide]

o o

1 Tangential and centripetal acceleration 2 Special cases 2.1 Uniform acceleration 2.2 Circular motion 3 Relation to relativity 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

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[4] and the derivative of the product of two functions of time as:

where un is the unit (inward) 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 or centripetal acceleration (see also circular motion andcentripetal force). Extension of this approach to three-dimensional space curves that cannot be contained on a planar surface leads to the Frenet-Serret formulas.[5][6]

[edit]Special [edit]Uniform

cases
acceleration

Uniform or constant acceleration is a type of motion in which the velocity of an object changes by an equal amount in every equal time period. A frequently cited example of uniform acceleration is that of an object in free fall in a uniform gravitational field. The acceleration of a falling body in the absence of

resistances to motion is dependent only on the gravitational field strength g (also called acceleration due to gravity). By Newton's Second Law the force, F, acting on a body is given by:

Due to the simple algebraic properties of constant acceleration in the onedimensional case (that is, the case of acceleration aligned with the initial velocity), there are simple formulas that relate the following quantities: displacement, initial velocity, final velocity, acceleration, and time:[7]

where = displacement = initial velocity = final velocity = uniform acceleration

t = time.
In the case of uniform acceleration of an object that is initially moving in a direction not aligned with the acceleration, the motion can be resolved into two orthogonal parts, one of constant velocity and the other according to the above equations. As Galileo showed, the net result is parabolic motion, as in the trajectory of a cannonball, neglecting air resistance.[8]

[edit]Circular

motion

An example of a body experiencing acceleration of a uniform magnitude but changing direction is uniform circular motion. In this case, because the direction of the object's motion is constantly

changing, being tangential to the circle, the object's velocity also changes, but its speed does not. This acceleration is directed toward the centre of the circle and takes the value:

where v is the object's speed. Equivalently, the radial acceleration may be calculated from the object's angular velocity , whence:

The acceleration, hence also the force acting on a body in uniform circular motion, is directed toward the center of the circle; that is, it is centripetal the so called 'centrifugal force' appearing to act outward on a body is really a pseudo force experienced in the frame of reference of the body in circular motion, due to the body's linear momentum at a tangent to the circle.

[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 forward acceleration would result in the driver feeling a slight pressure between himself and his seat. 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. The reason for this difference is that in the case of the car the force due to the engine is applied directly only to a certain part of the mass while the driver and the bulk of the car are passively dragged along. Gravity on the other hand accelerates the entire mass, with no internal forces acting. This was the basis for his development of general relativity, a relativistic theory of gravity.

Force
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Force (disambiguation). See also: Forcing (disambiguation)

Forces are also described as a push or pull on an object. They can be due to phenomena such as gravity,magnetism, or anything that might cause a mass to accelerate.

Classical mechanics

Newton's Second Law

History of classical mechanics Timeline of classical mechanics

Branches[show]

Formulations[show]

Fundamental concepts[hide] Space Time Velocity Speed Mass Acceleration Gravity Force Impulse Torque / Moment / Couple Momentum Angular momentum Inertia Moment of inertia Reference frame Energy Kinetic energy Potential energy Mechanical work Virtual work D'Alembert's principle

Core topics[show]

Scientists[show]

vde

In physics, a force is any influence that causes an object to undergo a change in speed, a change in direction, or a change in shape. Force can also be described by intuitive concepts such as a push or pull that can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (which includes to begin moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate, or which can cause a flexible object to deform. A force has both magnitude and direction, making it a vector quantity. Newton's second law, F=ma, was originally formulated in slightly different, but equivalent terms: the original version states that the net force acting upon an object is equal to the rate at which its momentum changes.[1] Related concepts to accelerating forces include thrust, increasing the velocity of the object, drag, decreasing the velocity of any object, andtorque, causing changes in rotational speed about an axis. Forces which do not act uniformly on all parts of a body will also cause mechanical stresses,[2] a technical term for influences which cause deformation of matter. While mechanical stress can remain embedded in a solid object, gradually deforming it, mechanical stress in a fluid determines changes in its pressure and volume.[3][4]

Development of the concept

Philosophers in antiquity used the concept of force in the study of stationary and moving objects and simple machines, but thinkers such as Aristotle and Archimedes retained fundamental errors in understanding force. In part this was due to an incomplete understanding of the sometimes nonobvious force of friction, and a consequently inadequate view of the nature of natural motion.[5] A fundamental error was the belief that a force is required to maintain motion, even at a constant velocity. Most of the previous misunderstandings about motion and force were eventually corrected by Sir Isaac Newton; with his mathematical insight, he formulated laws of motion that were not improved-on for nearly three hundred years.[4] By the early 20th century, Einstein developed a theory of relativitythat correctly predicted the action of forces on objects with increasing momenta near the speed of light, and also provided insight into the forces produced by gravitation and inertia. With modern insights into quantum mechanics and technology that can accelerate particles close to the speed of light, particle physics has devised a Standard Model to describe forces between particles smaller than atoms. The Standard Model predicts that exchanged particles called gauge bosons are the fundamental means by which forces are emitted and absorbed. Only four main interactions are known: in order of decreasing strength, they are: strong, electromagnetic, weak, and gravitational.
[3]

High-energy particle physics observations made during the 1970s and 1980s confirmed that the

weak and electromagnetic forces are expressions of a more fundamental electroweak interaction.[6]

Pre-Newtonian concepts
Aristotle famously described a force as anything which causes an object to undergo "unnatural motion"

Since antiquity the concept of force has been recognized as integral to the functioning of each of the simple machines. The mechanical advantage given by a simple machine allowed for less force to be used in exchange for that force acting over a greater distance for the same amount of work. Analysis of the characteristics of forces ultimately culminated in the work of Archimedes who was especially famous for formulating a treatment of buoyant forces inherent in fluids.[5] Aristotle provided a philosophical discussion of the concept of a force as an integral part of Aristotelian cosmology. In Aristotle's view, the natural world held four elementsthat existed in "natural states". Aristotle believed that it was the natural state of objects with mass on Earth, such as the elements water and earth, to be motionless on the ground and that they tended towards that state if left alone. He distinguished between the innate tendency of objects to find their "natural place" (e.g., for heavy bodies to fall), which led to "natural motion", and unnatural or forced motion, which required continued application of a force.[7] This theory, based on the everyday experience of how objects move, such as the constant application of a force needed to keep a cart moving, had conceptual trouble accounting for the behavior of projectiles, such as the flight of arrows. The place where forces were applied to projectiles was only at the start of the flight, and while the projectile sailed through the air, no discernible force acts on it. Aristotle was aware of this problem and proposed that the air displaced through the projectile's path provided the needed force to continue the projectile moving. This explanation demands that air is needed for projectiles and that, for example, in a vacuum, no projectile would move after the initial push. Additional problems with the explanation include the fact that air resists the motion of the projectiles.[8] Aristotelian physics began facing criticism in Medieval science, first by John Philoponus in the 6th century. The shortcomings of Aristotelian physics would not be fully corrected until the seventeenth century work of Galileo Galilei, who was influenced by the late Medieval idea that objects in forced motion carried an innate force of impetus. Galileo constructed an experiment in which stones and cannonballs

were both rolled down an incline to disprove the Aristotelian theory of motion early in the seventeenth century. He showed that the bodies were accelerated by gravity to an extent which was independent of their mass and argued that objects retain their velocity unless acted on by a force, for example friction.
[9]

Newtonian mechanics
Main article: Newton's laws of motion Sir Isaac Newton sought to describe the motion of all objects using the concepts of inertia and force, and in doing so he found that they obey certain conservation laws. In 1687 Newton went on to publish his thesis Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica.[4][10] In this work Newton set out three laws of motion that to this day are the way forces are described in physics.[10]

Newton's first law

Main article: Newton's laws of motion#Newton's first law Newton's first law of motion states that objects continue to move in a state of constant velocity unless acted upon by an external net force or resultant force.[10] This law is an extension of Galileo's insight that constant velocity was associated with a lack of net force (see a more detailed description of this below). Newton proposed that every object with mass has an innate inertia that functions as the fundamental equilibrium "natural state" in place of the Aristotelian idea of the "natural state of rest". That is, the first law contradicts the intuitive Aristotelian belief that a net force is required to keep an object moving with constant velocity. By making rest physically indistinguishable from non-zero constant velocity, Newton's first law directly connects inertia with the concept of relative velocities. Specifically, in systems where objects are moving with different velocities, it is impossible to determine which object is "in motion" and which object is "at rest". In other words, to phrase matters more technically, the laws of physics are the same in every inertial frame of reference, that is, in all frames related by a Galilean transformation. For example, while traveling in a moving vehicle at a constant velocity, the laws of physics do not change from being at rest. A person can throw a ball straight up in the air and catch it as it falls down without worrying about applying a force in the direction the vehicle is moving. This is true even though another person who is observing the moving vehicle pass by also observes the ball follow a curvingparabolic path in the same direction as the motion of the vehicle. It is the inertia of the ball associated with its constant velocity in the direction of the vehicle's motion that ensures the ball continues to move forward even as it is thrown up and falls back down. From the perspective of the person in the car, the vehicle and everything inside of it is at rest: It is the outside world that is moving with a constant speed in the opposite direction. Since there is no experiment that can distinguish

whether it is the vehicle that is at rest or the outside world that is at rest, the two situations are considered to be physically indistinguishable. Inertia therefore applies equally well to constant velocity motion as it does to rest. The concept of inertia can be further generalized to explain the tendency of objects to continue in many different forms of constant motion, even those that are not strictly constant velocity. Therotational inertia of planet Earth is what fixes the constancy of the length of a day and the length of a year. Albert Einstein extended the principle of inertia further when he explained that reference frames subject to constant acceleration, such as those free-falling toward a gravitating object, were physically equivalent to inertial reference frames. This is why, for example, astronauts experienceweightlessness when in free-fall orbit around the Earth, and why Newton's Laws of Motion are more easily discernible in such environments. If an astronaut places an object with mass in mid-air next to himself, it will remain stationary with respect to the astronaut due to its inertia. This is the same thing that would occur if the astronaut and the object were in intergalactic space with no net force of gravity acting on their shared reference frame. This principle of equivalence was one of the foundational underpinnings for the development of the general theory of relativity.[11]

Though Sir Isaac Newton's most famous equation is second law of motion that did not use differential calculus.

, he actually wrote down a different form for his

Newton's second law

Main article: Newton's laws of motion#Newton's second law A modern statement of Newton's second law is a vector differential equation:[12]

where

is the momentum of the system, and

is the net (vector sum) force. In equilibrium, there

is zero net force by definition, but (balanced) forces may be present nevertheless. In contrast, the second law states an unbalanced force acting on an object will result in the object's momentum changing over time.[10] By the definition of momentum,

where m is the mass and

is the velocity.

In a system of constant mass, the use of the constant factor rule in differentiation allows the mass to move outside the derivative operator, and the equation becomes

. By substituting the definition of acceleration, the algebraic version of Newton's second law is derived:

It is sometimes called the "second most famous formula in physics".[13] Newton never explicitly stated the formula in the reduced form above. Newton's second law asserts the direct proportionality of acceleration to force and the inverse proportionality of acceleration to mass. Accelerations can be defined through kinematic measurements. However, while kinematics are well-described through reference frame analysis in advanced physics, there are still deep questions that remain as to what is the proper definition of mass. General relativity offers an equivalence between space-time and mass, but lacking a coherent theory of quantum gravity, it is unclear as to how or whether this connection is relevant on microscales. With some justification, Newton's second law can be taken as a quantitative definition of mass by writing the law as an equality; the relative units of force and mass then are fixed. The use of Newton's second law as a definition of force has been disparaged in some of the more rigorous textbooks,[3][14] because it is essentially a mathematical truism. Notable physicists, philosophers and mathematicians who have sought a more explicit definition of the concept of force include Ernst Mach, Clifford Truesdell and Walter Noll.[15] Newton's second law can be used to measure the strength of forces. For instance, knowledge of the masses of planets along with the accelerations of their orbits allows scientists to calculate the gravitational forces on planets.

Newton's third law

Main article: Newton's laws of motion#Newton's third law: law of reciprocal actions Newton's third law is a result of applying symmetry to situations where forces can be attributed to the presence of different objects. The Third Law means that all forces are interactions between different bodies,[16][17] and thus that there is no such thing as a unidirectional force or a force that acts on only one body. Whenever a first body

exerts a force F on a second body, the second body exerts a force F on the first body. F and F are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. This law is sometimes referred to as the action-reaction law, with F called the "action" and F the "reaction". The action and the reaction are simultaneous.

If object 1 and object 2 are considered to be in the same system, then the net force on the system due to the interactions between objects 1 and 2 is zero since

This means that in a closed system of particles, there are no internal forces that are unbalanced. That is, the action-and-reaction force shared between any two objects in a closed system will not cause the center of mass of the system to accelerate. The constituent objects only accelerate with respect to each other, the system itself remains unaccelerated. Alternatively, if an external forceacts on the system, then the center of mass will experience an acceleration proportional to the magnitude of the external force divided by the mass of the system.
[3]

Combining Newton's second and third laws, it is possible to show that the linear momentum of a system is conserved. Using

and integrating with respect to time, the equation:

is obtained. For a system which includes objects 1 and 2,

which is the conservation of linear momentum.[18] Using the similar arguments, it is possible to generalizing this to a system of an arbitrary number of particles. This shows that exchanging momentum between constituent objects will not affect the net momentum of a system. In

general, as long as all forces are due to the interaction of objects with mass, it is possible to define a system such that net momentum is never lost nor gained.[3]

Mass
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the scientific concept. For the substance of which all physical objects consist, see Matter. For other uses, see Mass (disambiguation).

Classical mechanics

Newton's Second Law

History of classical mechanics Timeline of classical mechanics

Branches[show]

Formulations[show]

Fundamental concepts[hide] Space Time Velocity Speed Mass Acceleration Gravity Force Impulse Torque / Moment / Couple Momentum A ngular momentum Inertia Moment of inertia Reference frame Energy Kinetic energy Potential energy Mechanical work Virtual work D'Alembert's principle

Core topics[show]

Scientists[show]

vde

Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity. In physics, mass (from Ancient Greek: ) commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:

inertial mass active gravitational mass passive gravitational mass

Mass must be distinguished from matter in physics, because matter is a poorly-defined concept, and although all types of agreed-upon matter exhibit mass, it is also the case that many types of energy which are not mattersuch as potential energy, kinetic energy, and trapped electromagnetic radiation(photons)also exhibit mass. Thus, all matter has the property of mass, but not all mass is associated with identifiable matter. In everyday usage, "mass" is often used interchangeably with weight, and the units of weight are often taken to be kilograms (for instance, a person may state that their weight is 75 kg). In proper scientific use, however, the two terms refer to different, yet related, properties of matter. The inertial mass of an object determines its acceleration in the presence of an applied force. According to Newton's second law of motion, if a body of fixed 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 rfrom a second body of mass m2, each body experiences an attractive force F whose magnitude is

where G is the universal constant of gravitation, equal to 6.671011 kg1 m3 s2. 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 17th century have demonstrated that inertial and gravitational mass are equivalent; this is entailed in theequivalence principle of general relativity. Special relativity shows that rest mass (or invariant mass) and rest energy are essentially equivalent, via the well-known relationship (E = mc2). This same equation also connects relativistic mass and "relativistic energy" (total system energy). These are concepts that are related to their "rest" counterparts, but they do not have the same value, in systems where there is a net momentum. In order to deduce any of these four quantities from any of the others, in any system which has a net momentum, an equation that takes momentum into account is needed. Mass (so long as the type and definition of mass is agreed upon) is a conserved quantity over time. From the viewpoint of any single unaccelerated observer, mass can neither be created or destroyed, and special relativity does not change this understanding (though different observers

may not agree on how much mass is present, all agree that the amount does not change over time). However, relativity adds the fact that all types of energy have an associated mass, and this mass is added to systems when energy is added, and the associated mass is subtracted from systems when the energy leaves. In such cases, the energy leaving or entering the system carries the added or missing mass with it, since this energy itself has mass. Thus, mass remains conserved when the location of all mass is taken into account. On the surface of the Earth, the weight W of an object is related to its mass m by

where g is the Earth's gravitational field strength, equal to about 9.81 m s2. 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.
Contents
[hide]

o o o

1 Units of mass 2 Summary of mass concepts and formalisms 3 Summary of mass related phenomena 4 Weight and amount 5 Gravitational mass 5.1 Keplerian gravitational mass 5.2 Galilean gravitational field 5.3 Newtonian gravitational mass

o o o

5.3.1 Newton's cannonball 5.3.2 Universal gravitational mass and amount

6 Inertial and gravitational mass 6.1 Inertial mass 6.2 Newtonian gravitational mass 6.3 Equivalence of inertial and gravitational masses 7 Mass and energy in special relativity 8 Notes 9 References 10 Biblioiography

11 External links

[edit]Units

of mass

In the International System of Units (SI), mass is measured in kilograms (kg). The gram (g) is electronvolt is common in particle physics.

The atomic mass unit (u) is defined so that a single carbon-12 atom has a mass of

12 u; 1 u is approximately 1.661027 kg.[note 1] The atomic mass unit is convenient for expressing the masses of atoms and Outside the SI system, a variety of different mass units are used, depending on context, such as the slug (sl), the pound (lb), the Planck mass (mP), and the solar mass In normal situations, the weight of an object is proportional to its mass, which usually makes it unproblematic to use the same unit for both concepts. However, the distinction between mass and weightbecomes important for measurements with a precision better than a few percent (because of slight differences in the strength of the 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. A mass can sometimes be expressed in terms of length. The mass of a very small particle may be identified with its inverse Compton wavelength (1 cm1 3.521041 kg). The mass of a very large star or black hole may be identified with its Schwarzschild radius (1 cm 6.731024 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 body of mass m to the body's acceleration a:

Additionally, mass relates a body's momentum p to its velocity v:

and the body's kinetic energy Ek to its velocity:

In special relativity, relativistic mass is a formalism which accounts for relativistic effects by having the mass increase with velocity.

Since energy is dependent on reference frame (upon the observer) it is convenient to formulate the equations of physics in a way such that mass values are invariant (do not change) between observers, and so the equations are independent of the observer. For a single particle, this quantity is the rest mass; for a system of bound or unbound particles, this quantity is the invariant mass. The invariant mass m of a body is related to its energy E and the magnitude of its momentum p by

where c is the speed of light.

[edit]Summary

of mass related

phenomena

The relation between properties of mass and their associated physical constants. Every massive object is believed to exhibit all five properties. However, due to extremely large or extremely small constants, it is

generally impossible to verify more than two or three properties for any object.

The Schwarzschild radius (rs) represents the ability of mass to

cause curvature in space and time.

The standard gravitational parameter () 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 () 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:[1]

The amount of matter in certain types of samples can be

exactly determined through electrodeposition[clarification needed] or otherprecise 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).

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.

 Active gravitational mass is a measure of the strength of

an objects 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 freefall 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 objects 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 wasnt discovered until after it was predicted by Einsteins 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

objects 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. Inertial mass, gravitational mass, and the various other massrelated 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.