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THE CONCEPT OF INERTIA IN PHYSICS

Conference Paper · August 2003

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THE CONCEPT OF INERTIA IN PHYSICS

ION SIMACIU

Physics Department of University “Petroleum - Gas”, Ploiesti 2000, Romania,

ABSTRACT

The concept of inertia in physics is defined and the measures of the mechanical inertia, the
thermodynamic inertia and electrocinetic inertia are identified. It is established that all the inertias
can be explained through the mechanical inertia (the inertial mass) of the microscopic systems.
Keywords: concept of inertia, inertial mass

1. Introduction

The concept of inertia is a fundamental concept in physics. The concept of inertia is bounded with
other fundamental concepts as: the concept of state; the concept of interaction and the concept of
process (transformation). The state of a system is defined by the state parameters. Depending on the
nature of the system, the state of the system can be: mechanical (statical, kinematical, dynamical and
of deformation), thermodynamic, electromagnetic etc. The process consists in the transition of a
system from a state to another. Given the causality principle, the process is the effect of interaction.
Depending on the nature of the systems and the nature of the states implied there are many types of
processes: mechanical (equilibrium, motion and deformation), electromagnetic, gravitational,
chemical, thermodynamic etc.
Given the concepts introduced above, we can define the concept of inertia: The inertia is the propriety
of a system to oppose the changing of its state. Given the states and systems nature, we can distinguish
between a several types of interaction. Corresponding to each type of interaction, there are different
types of inertia: mechanical, electromagnetic, thermodynamic etc. As we will show along this paper
these inertias are interdependent and have their origin in rest /motion (mechanical) inertia [1].
As to any propriety, to the measured inertia we can attach a physical measure (mechanical,
thermodynamic, electromagnetic). Due to Max Jammer’s opinion (American physicist, 1960) [2], in
the history of forming of concept, we distinguish three phases: the conceptualization (the process of
forming of the notion), the systematization (including the new concept in the scientific system syntax)
and the formalization. The phase of formalization it is possible only when we pass from a propriety (in
this case the inertia propriety) using the process of measurement, to different inertia dimensions as
measures of inertia. The formalization is possible when the bounds between the parameters of state of
the system are established, that is the laws of state and the process law for each class of phenomena.

2. The mechanical inertia

Mechanics is the physics domain that studies the phenomena of mechanical nature that is the
phenomena that implies mechanical interaction. The class of mechanical phenomena is dividing, given
the effect of interaction, in three subclasses: equilibrium phenomena, motion phenomena and
deformation phenomena. The equilibrium phenomena studied as part of dynamics and the deformation
phenomena as part of deformation mechanics. The mechanical inertia is introduced in the framework
of dynamics, although this propriety is also implicated in the state of equilibrium (rest). Galilei was
who defined it the first time in 1638. The mechanical inertia in Static and Dynamics is defined as the
propriety of a mechanical system to keep its state of relative rest and of straight uniform motion if the
system doesn’t interactionate or the effect of interactions is zero (the principle of inertia introduced by
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Newton in 1687). Given the type of motion, the inertia has different measures. The dynamics of
material point introduces through the process law (the fundamental law)
r r
a = F / m, (1)
a measure of mechanical inertia, in the translation motion, which is the inertial mass. The inertial mass
appears at the denominator of the fundamental law. As bigger this measure, at the same cause (the
same force), the effect is lower (acceleration) and therefore the inertial mass measures the propriety of
a body to oppose the change of its state of motion. For the motion of rotation, the fundamental law is:
r r
ε =M /I. (2)
This relation pinpoints another essential inertial measure (a measure of the inertia for the rotation
motion), which is the inertial moment I ,
I = ∑ mi ri .
2
(3)
The inertial moment depends on the mass and the way the mass is distributed around its rotation axis.
The deformation phenomenon of the bodies pinpoints the deformation inertia that is measured in
accordance with the elastically linear deformations (the Hook law- English physicist, 1635-1703)
∆l = F ( E ⋅ S l ) = F / k (4)
by the elastic constant k . The deformation inertia of a bar with the length l and the section S , made
out of a material with the elasticity module E , is proportional with S and inverse-proportional with l .
I def . = ( E ⋅ S ) / l = k . (5)
It is interesting the fact that, although apparently this inertia has nothing to do with the mechanical
inertia in translation motion, measured by mass, the analysis of the deformation phenomenon and of
the elastically proprieties of a system pinpoints the fact that the modulus of elasticity is the potential
link energy between the atoms (molecules) of the material, on the unit of volume (the density of
potential link energy) [3].
E = Wp l . / V = wp l . . (6)
Replacing (6) in (5) it results
k = ( S / l )w p l . = W p l . / l 2 . (7)
Because, in concordance with the Einstein’s relation between mass and energy, to the potential energy
it corresponds a mass ( m p l . ), relation (7) can be written
k = ( m p l .c 2 ) / l 2 (8)
The potential mass of linking ( m p l . ) can be interpreted as a defect of mass of interatomic
(intermolecular) links, too. The defect of mass is the difference between the free atoms (free
molecules) mass and the mass of the atoms (molecules) linked in a solid material which form the
bar ( S ,l, ρ )
m p l . = m free − mlink = N ⋅ matom − ρ ⋅ l ⋅ S = l ⋅ S ( n ⋅ mat . free − ρ ) (9)

3. The energy and the inertial measures

The inertial measures can be pinpointed by the expression of the energy specific to the phenomenon,
too. For the translation motion the energy has the classical expression
Ec = ( m ⋅ υ 2 ) / 2 , (10)
for the rotation motion
Ec = ( I ⋅ ω 2 ) / 2 (11)
and for deformation
E d = k ( ∆ l )2 / 2 . (12)
By comparing the relations (10 - 12) it results that the inertial measure is the proportionality
coefficient between the energy and the square of the effect measurement: the speed variation ( ∆υ = υ ,
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if the initial speed is zero), the variation of the angular speed ( ∆ω = ω , if the initial ω is zero) and the
absolute stretching of the bar ( ∆l = l − l0 ).

4. The thermodynamic inertia

In order to pinpoint the thermodynamic inertia and its diverse measures, we analyze the simple
thermal processes, in which the volume remains constant, studied as part of studies the process of
heating of a body and the process of changing the state of aggregation. In the heating process if we
neglect the volume variation (isochoric) the process law is
∆θ = Q /( m ⋅ cV ) = Q /( ν ⋅ CV ) (13)
The inertial measure for these processes is the caloric capacity
C = m ⋅ cV = ν ⋅ CV (14)
In this case the mass m as like ν measures the quantity of substance. We notice though that the thermic
inertia is proportional with the mechanical inertia, but depends on other measures specific to the nature
of the substance (the specific heat or molar heat). The Kinetic Molecular Theory demonstrates that the
thermic inertia depends on the total number of degrees of freedom. Of the body with the mass m and
constant k / 2 which represents the average thermic inertia on degrees of freedom
C = N ⋅i ⋅ k / 2 = v ⋅ NA ⋅i ⋅ k / 2 = v ⋅ R ⋅i / 2 (15)
For the processes which change the state of aggregation, the process law is:
∆m = Q / λ (16a)
that is the quantity of substance which changes its state of aggregation, measured by ∆m (the initial
mass from the initial state minus the final mass having the initial state ∆m = mi − m f ), proportional
with the cause (the heat exchanged by the system) and inverse proportional with the latent heat
λ which measures the inertia at the process of the change of aggregation state. As the process of
mechanical deformation of a body, the latent heat is a material constant that depends on the link
energy between the atoms (molecules) of the substance. The heat ( Q ) exchanged by the system is of
value equal to the link potential energy between the atoms in the material which has changed its state.
If all the initial mass changes its state, (16a) becomes
Q = m ⋅ λ = Wp l . (16b)
the inertia at the change of aggregation state is
λ = Wp l . / m (17)
so we can establish a bound with the deformation inertia (7), too. If the solid body is a bar of mass m ,
length l and section S then
λs ,d = W p l . /( S ⋅ l ⋅ ρ ) = ( l 2 ⋅ k ) /( S ⋅ l ⋅ ρ ) = [l /( S ⋅ ρ )]k (18)
or
λs ,d = [l /( S ⋅ ρ )]⋅ [( E ⋅ S ) / l ] = E / ρ (19)
The relations (18) and (19) are valid in the case of sublimation/desublimation when the solid passes in
the state of gas and reverse, when gas passes in the state of solid (in the case when the material passes
from the solid state in gas state through liquid state then there is a bound between the latent heats of
sublimation/desublimation and the latent heats of melting/solidification and vaporization/condensation
λsd = λts + λvl ) and represents a bound between the thermodynamics material constants and elastic
material constants and of course between the thermic and elastic inertias.

5. The electrocinetic inertia

In Electrocinetics (The Electric Current Theory) the fundamental law of a circuit portion is the Ohm’s
law
I =U / R (20)
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in which the electrical resistance of a circuit portion is a measure of the electrocinetic inertia of the
circuit portion as physical system. Under local form, the Ohm’s law
r r
j = E / ρe (21)
pinpoints the local inertia which is the resistivity ( ρe ) as material parameter. Between the two
measures of the electrocinetic inertia there is the bound:
R = ρe ( l / S ) (22)
that is, the electrocinetic macroscopic inertia depends not only on the dimensions of the portion of the
conductor ( S , l ) but also on the nature of the material through ρe . In microscopic conduction theory it
is demonstrated that the resistivity depends proportional on the mechanical inertia of the carriers
(particularly, the mass of the electrons, for metals) and inverse proportional with the carriers
concentrations
ρe = ( me ⋅ υT ) /( ne ⋅ qe2 ⋅ λe ) (23)
with: me the mass of the electron; υT - the thermic speed of the free electrons; ne the concentration of
the free electrons; qe - the charge of the electron; λe – the average free path between two consecutive
collisions of the electrons with the crystal lattice and between them. It result that there is a bound
between the mechanical inertia me of the carriers and the electrocinetic macroscopic inertia R and
the electrocinetic microscopic inertia ρe .
In conclusion, we can say that the inertias which correspond to different types of systems and
processes are bounded between them through a qualitative and quantitative dependency and are
reduced, phenomenologically, at the mechanical inertia of the microscopic system.

6. References

[1] I. Simaciu, Să înţelegem fizica, Editura U. P. G. Ploieşti, 1996.

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