PHY3063 R. D.

Field

Equivalence of Inertial and Gravitational Mass

Inertial Mass:
The inertial mass of an object tells us how difficult it is to change the
particles velocity (i.e. accelerate it). Can uniquely determine the inertial
mass m of a particle relative to the reference mass mref by applying an
equal force to m and mref and measuring the ratio of the resulting
accelerations as follows: Inertial Mass
a 
mi F
mi a = F = mref a ref and mi =  ref  mref .
 a 

Gravitational Mass: The gravitational mass mg of a particle is

determined (at the surface of the earth) by measuring the gravitational
force exerted on it as follows: Gravitational Mass
Mass mg m g M earth F
Fgrav = G 2
= m g g and m g = grav ,
Earth Rearth g
Re
Me where g is the acceleration due to gravity at the surface of
the earth:
M earth
g =G 2
≈ 9 .8 m / s 2 .
Rearth

Experiment: In a vacuum all bodies fall with the same acceleration.

Release both at t = 0 ( mi )1 a1 = ( m g )1 g ( mi ) 2 a 2 = ( m g ) 2 g
Cannon Ball Feather Dividing the two equations gives
( mi )1 ( mi ) 2  a2 
=   and since a = a
( m g )1 ( m g ) 2  a1 
1 2

Set equal to 1
( mi )1 ( mi ) 2
=
Both hit ground at same time!
( m g )1 ( m g ) 2 .
We see that mi/mg is the same for all particles and hence we can define G
such that mi = mg for all particles. Only one type of mass!

Department of Physics Chapter2_12.doc University of Florida