inertial mass

noun

, Physics.

1. the mass of a body as determined by the second law of motion from the acceleration of the body when it is subjected to a force that is not due to gravity.
2. the measure of the property of inertia. Compare Eötvös experiment, inertia ( def 2a ), gravitational mass.

inertial mass

noun

1. the mass of a body as determined by its momentum, as opposed to gravitational mass. The acceleration of a falling body is inversely proportional to its inertial mass but directly proportional to its gravitational mass: as all falling bodies have the same constant acceleration the two types of mass must be equal

Example Sentences

That principle states that an object’s inertial mass, which determines how much it accelerates when force is applied, is equivalent to its gravitational mass, which determines how strong a gravitational force it feels.

From Washington Post

When thinking about the acceleration of an object due to a force exerted on it, we think about the “inertial mass” of the body.

From Scientific American

Using beryllium and titanium, they found gravitational and inertial mass equal to one part in 10 trillion, as they reported in Physical Review Letters in 2008.

From Science Magazine

And if the mood encourages laypeople to ask why knowledge of inertia and the inertial mass of particles is important to our understanding of the universe as a whole, all the better.

From BBC

One way is to try and falsify the equivalence principle, to show that two phenomena of gravitational and inertial mass are not really identical.

From Forbes